


You Look So Good in Blue

by jar7172



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance has nightmares, M/M, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Slow Burn, Tired Shiro (Voltron), facemasks happen, this was meant to be fluffy but the angst just wrote itself, truth or dare happens???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 12:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19209265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jar7172/pseuds/jar7172
Summary: "Keith never realized what a void Lance filled in his life until he left it vacant again."Lance gets captured by the Galra and when he returns a week later, he isn't quite the same.  Plagued by nightmares, he's struggling to get through the day.  Keith offers to keep him company (for the sake of the team, of course) and finds himself in way over his head.  Cue facemasks, team movie nights, truth or dare, and of course, some bonding moments.Takes place during season 2





	You Look So Good in Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to @Gigigrillcheese for helping me with this fic! I could never get through writer's block without you.  
> Enjoy!

“A simple reconnaissance mission,” Allura had said, “There’s no signs of Galra presence here,” she told them confidently.

Lance thinks back to their debriefing bitterly as he and Blue dodge a heavy onslaught of Galra fire. His teammates are yelling in his comms, but he ignores them to focus on maneuvering Blue.

“Lance! Lance, are you even listening?” Keith’s irate voice breaks through the white noise.

“I’m a little busy Keith!” He yells back as Blue freezes a line of Galra fighters.

The Galra had ambushed them, and now the lions are separated by fighter ships, the cruisers sending ion blasts whenever the lions try to reconvene.

Lance looks past the sea of Galra ships to witness Red gracefully arcing through the enemies, curling above them and blasting them as she passes. Lance always feels adept and agile while flying Blue until he sees Keith and Red, doing exactly what he’s doing but a little bit better.

Blue hums urgently in his mind to bring him back to his own predicament moments before an ion blast hits her squarely in the side. Lance yells as Blue spirals towards the planet, controls flickering on and off.

“C’mon girl…” he mutters through gritted teeth, pulling up desperately on the unresponsive controls. He can feel her trying to respond but struggling to remain conscious.

Lance hears his teammates yelling his name but can’t take the time to respond as he wrestles with the controls in vain. Blue crashes into the sandy surface of the planet, a desolate dessert world, producing a giant dust cloud. Lance is flung from the pilot seat as she crashes and thrown across the unlit control console.

“Lance! Lance are you there?” Allura’s voice finally breaks through to him.

“Blue is down. I think I lost a thruster.” He responds through gritted teeth, standing up and trying to ignore his body screaming in protest. He looks out to see Galra foot soldiers approaching from all directions. “I’m getting out to defend her.”

“No Lance! Stay put. You’ll be safer inside your lion. Keith, you’re the closest to where he crashed. Can you get in and extract Lance?” She delegates from the Castle of Lions.

“On my way, Princess.”

“No! I can’t let Blue fall into the hands of the Galra. I’m getting out.”

“Lance, no! We can’t risk-” he turns his comms off at Allura’s protests. He does not need stupidly perfect Keith Kogane to rescue him, he’s a paladin of Voltron as much as Keith is and he will defend his own lion with everything he has.

He lays a hand lightly on Blue’s console, feeling her presence flickering nervously in his mind. “Don’t worry girl,” he reassures her before leaping from the cockpit, bayard at the ready.

He’s firing before his feet touch the ground. He lands into a roll and comes up on one knee, crouched in front of his massive lion as if to shield her from the Galra soldiers. They are closing the distance rapidly as he continues firing, picking them off one by one. Lance knows there are far too many of them for him to win this fight, and he reaches out to Blue, urging her to return to the Castle. She’s still weak but regaining strength by the minute. He just has to hold them off long enough for her to get away. The lions are irreplaceable, and he can’t afford to let her be captured by the Galra. Paladins, on the other hand, well. Lance knows that he can be replaced. He turns his comms back on and is greeted with the shouts of his team.

“-back in your lion this instant!”

“Hang on buddy, I’m coming!” Hunk yells.

“Lance, listen to the princess!” Shiro, this time.

“We’re all converging on your location,” Pidge announces.

Keith is silent. Shocker.

“Guys, guys listen!” Lance yells, the soldiers only a few yards away now. “Get Blue out of here! I can’t let the Galra get her. Get Blue to the Castle, I’ll be-”  
He’s cut off as the first soldier lunges at him. Lance fires a shot through his helmet, but as he does so, backs into the grip of a solider who had snuck up behind him. Others quickly surge forward to help hold the struggling paladin, wrestling his bayard from his hands and yanking his helmet from his head.

Suddenly, a stream of fire rains down on the ranks of soldiers surrounding Lance, and he looks up to see Red circling him and Blue. Lance struggles against the soldiers pinning his arms to his sides but then feels the cool metal of a blaster against his neck and freezes. Keith must have seen it, because the fire stops, and everything falls still and silent. Red is suspended above Blue, and Lance can see the outline of Keith in her cockpit. The other lions finally arrive but halt in the air around them. No one seems willing to even breathe in this horrible standstill, too fearful to make a move.

Lance closes his eyes and reaches out to Blue again. He feels her concern for him, but also her returned strength. She still isn’t functioning at 100%, but he can sense that she’s well enough to fly. Go. He urges her. Return to the Castle. I’ll be okay. She hums in the back of his mind, reluctant to leave him. Please, he begs, tears welling in his eyes. You have to save yourself. You’re the key to winning this war, to bringing peace. It’s… it’s been an honor to be your paladin.

She purrs softly and affectionately at him before surging upwards, keeling to one side with only one thruster working, but ascending nonetheless. Lance barely has time to breathe a sigh of relief before the butt of a blaster connects with his skull and he collapses into darkness.  
 

 

“What was that!” Keith yells, ripping his helmet off and throwing it to the ground as he and the remaining paladins arrive in the hanger. “We could have saved him! Why did that idiot-”

“Keith,” Shiro places a hand on his shoulder, silencing his outburst. “We’ll get him back. But Lance was right, our priority had to be protecting Blue.

After Blue had taken off and Lance had been knocked unconscious, Shiro had ordered the Paladins to retreat to the castle and escort Blue to the hanger. She was vulnerable with only one thruster and without her paladin.

Keith had tried to protest, but he knew there was no way to save Lance on his own without the Galra killing the blue paladin on the spot. As soon as all the lions were safely within the castle, Allura had wormholed them a galaxy over to regroup.

Allura and Coran enter the hanger to see the four remaining paladins looking defeated and shaken.

“Paladins, I-”

“Why didn’t the Castle scanners pick up any Galra ships?” Keith demands, silencing Allura’s apology. “There was a whole fleet on the surface of that planet!”

“It appears the Galra have developed new cloaking technology, similar to that used by the Green Lion.” Coran explains. He turns to Pidge. “I was hoping you could help me figure out how to update the scanners while the rest of the team devises a plan to retrieve Lance.”

Pidge nods solemnly and follows Coran out of the hanger, looking up at Blue as they leave.

“We don’t have time to wait,” Keith interjects before anyone else can speak, “we have to go back for him. If we don’t save him now, he could be taken anywhere in the universe.”

“I’m with Keith on this one,” Hunk adds. “You know I’m not normally one to rush in head-on, but the longer we wait….” He trails off nervously.

“I’m as concerned as you guys are,” Shiro reassures them, “but we have to be strategic about this. If we rush in head-on, especially a paladin short, we could be putting all the lions, and ourselves, at risk.”

“Shiro’s right,” Allura steps forward assertively. “If you can’t form Voltron then we’ll need a better plan than rushing in brashly. Behaving this way is what got Lance captured in the first place.”

Keith glowers, and Hunk looks nervously up at Blue, who hasn’t moved since arriving at the hanger.

It’s Shiro who finally breaks the silence. “Lance is strong, he’ll be able to hold out until we get to him. I was a prisoner of the Galra too, remember? It was hard, but Lance can handle it.”

“You weren’t a paladin of Voltron when they captured you,” Keith argues. “We don’t know what they’ll do to him!”  
Shiro sighs and exchanges a nervous glance with Allura.

“Keith, we have to remain calm and devise a real plan to rescue Lance,” Allura reasons.

“Calm? I’m perfectly calm!” Keith yells, scooping him his helmet and stalking out of the hanger.

 

***

 

Lance comes to gradually at first, slowly becoming aware of a throbbing in his skull and a stiffness in his limbs. He tries to stretch and finds himself restrained, clamped down onto a cold table by metal clasps. He snaps to full consciousness as panic overtakes him. He tries struggling weakly against the restraints, but he knows it’s useless. He does his best to breathe steadily and take stock of his surroundings.

He had been stripped of his paladin armor and dressed in Galra prison fatigues. He shudders at the thought. The coldness of the hard metal table seeps through the thin fabric, and the air in the room is still and sterile. There are odd instruments all around him, and Lance dreads finding out what they do.

He wonders grimly how much time he has before someone comes to interrogate him, but he isn’t left waiting for long. The door slides open with a sinister hiss as Haggar steps into the room. Lance pales as she walks slowly towards him, eyeing him up and down silently for a moment.

Finally, she speaks. “Welcome, blue paladin. I’m so glad you could join us.”

Lance sneers but says nothing, not trusting his voice not to quiver.

Haggar waits expectantly for a response, and when it becomes clear she isn’t getting one, she darts her hand out and grabs Lance’s chin faster than he can register.

“You will answer me when I’m speaking to you, blue paladin.”

Lance tries to jerk out of her grip but her hands, despite looking so frail, are as strong as a vice. “I have nothing to say to you,” he spits.

“Oh, you don’t have to say anything, but it will be much less painful for you if you do.”

Lance refuses to look away, locking onto her glowing yellow eyes even though they terrify him. She smirks, and suddenly she’s in his mind, memories flashing before his eyes as she flicks through them. She pauses on some memories, studying them, as Lance watches helplessly. She watches his youngest sister’s fifth birthday party, the memory of Lance’s family crowded around the table as he helps her blow out her candles. The last time they were all together back on Earth. Suddenly he’s moving into his cramped dorm in the Garrison, as his roommate introduces himself as Hunk Garrett. They shake hands, and suddenly they are sneaking into the kitchen at night, Hunk whipping up a midnight snack while Lance babbles worriedly about whether or not he’ll make fighter class. Then they are in their room as Lance cries onto Hunk after finding out he’d be a cargo pilot. Then he’s meeting Pidge, who had caught him trying to copy their engineering exam, and offered to help him study for the next one instead of turning him in.

Then there was Keith. Lance trying to congratulate him on making fighter class, and Keith brushing past him without saying a word. Lance inviting him to sneak into the kitchen with he and Hunk, and Keith responding coldly, “do I know you?”

Then he’s piloting Blue for the first time, and Lance can feel Haggar paying careful attention to her schematics. Get… out of my head! Lance strains, but he just hears Haggar’s laugh in the distance as the scene shifts again. He’s in the Castle of Lions, and again she seems to be looking at the structure and layout of the Altean castle. Lance grits his teeth, eyes squeezed shut as if this could keep the visions out. Keep her from seeing what he sees.  
An inkling of an idea forms in the back of his mind as Haggar continues examining the castle through his memories. Lance focuses as hard as he can on memories of home. He pictures the beach in Cuba where his grandparents live and focuses his mind on the rhythm of the waves crashing on the sand. The Castle disappears, and Lance finds himself standing on the empty beach with Haggar. She looks around a moment before chuckling.

“You’re stronger than you look, blue paladin.”

“Hey!”

“Unfortunately, you’re not quite strong enough.” She lunges at him, diving back into his memories of the Castle. Lance yells with the effort to keep her out and keeps thinking of Earth and his family.

Images flicker across his vision as Lance conjures innocuous memories of home while Haggar claws at memories regarding Voltron. It looks like a TV that’s stuck between channels, static swirling around his vision and he tries to block Haggar’s mind probes.

Suddenly Lance is plunged back into his body, panting, and looking around frantically. Haggar looms over him, looking tired but not nearly as tired as he feels. She snarls at him and grabs a syringe from one of the tables. Before he can respond, she plunges it into his neck and injects a clear liquid into him. He cries out in shock as an icy feeling spreads through his body and his vision clouds.

“Sweet dreams, Paladin.” She mutters as Lance’s vision goes black, the last thing he sees are her narrowed, glowing eyes. “I’ll see you when you wake.”

Lance falls into a series of nightmares, each one involving the people that he loves dying as he fails to save them. He yells as each of the lions of Voltron go dark, one by one, until he’s screaming himself hoarse into comms with no responses. He watches the Castle of Lions crumble under an ion blast, hears Allura’s screams tear off into silence. He crumbles as he watches a Galra blast slice through his parents’ farmhouse, tearing it apart and leaving the remains smoking. Similar images play out over and over in his mind, and he’s always just too late to save them.

 

***

 

Keith has been restless since Lance got captured a week ago. That idiot had left his lion after being told not to and who knew what the Galra were doing to him now? Not to mention, he left the whole team vulnerable without the ability to form Voltron. Keith grumbles to himself as he makes his way to the training deck for the second time today. Slicing at the Gladiator, as if it as the one who had taken Lance, is the only thing keeping him sane.

The whole team is taking it hard. Hunk has been spending all his time in the hanger, trying to repair Blue as much as possible. Repairing someone else’s lion is particularly challenging, because their mental links help them run diagnostics, but Hunk gladly embraces it. Meanwhile, Shiro and Allura sit around the conference tables tossing ideas back and forth about how they could rescue him. Even the mice seem forlorn, napping lethargically on Lance’s empty bed. His sheets had been tossed aside haphazardly in his haste to leave for the last mission, and no one had the heart to make the bed. He could make it himself when he got back.

Hopefully.

Mealtimes are tense and far too quiet without Lance’s constant chatter, and group training is nearly impossible with one member of the team missing. All sense of routine and normalcy within the palace is gone, replaced with a cloud of tension that settles around all of its inhabitants.

Just at Keith is booting up the Gladiator for another round, Coran’s voice crackles over the castle’s intercom.  
“Everyone, report to the bridge. Pidge and I have a potential update on Lance’s location.”

Keith freezes for a moment, trying to stifle the small sliver of hope blossoming in his chest. Don’t get your hopes up. He thinks to himself, quickly shutting down the training program and rushing to the bridge in his tee shirt and joggers, sword still in hand. _Remember how different Shiro was after being captured by the Galra. The Lance we save might not be the Lance we lost._

Keith finds that he is the last to arrive as the door to the bridge slides open. The team stares at him a moment before Shiro says,

“There’s no need to have your bayard drawn Keith. We’re not busting in there just yet.”

Truthfully, Keith hadn’t even realized he still had his sword drawn. He nods apologetically and allows his weapon to vanish.

“Now that we’re all here,” Coran begins, “would you like to explain what we’ve found, Pidge?”

Pidge nods, pushing their glasses up the bridge of their nose as they begin talking. “Coran and I determined that there’s no way to scan for ships with cloaking technology as advanced as what I’ve got on Green. We don’t know how the Galra got their hands on this kind of tech, but that can be solved after….” They trail off. _After we save Lance_ hangs in the air. “Well, one problem at a time. We decided instead to scan the atmosphere of planets for spaces where their natural gasses are missing. See, if we can find a large area of space with no readings at all, we can assume something is there and blocking our scanners.”

Shiro and Allura exchange glances before Shiro steps forward to speak. “That’s great Pidge. But how does this explain where Lance is?”

“I was getting to that.” Pidge explains. “Coran and I tested out our new theory and found an area a few solar systems over with a massive area of dead space. There are no readings coming from it at all, and the size appears similar to that of the fleet that ambushed us last week. We think he’s there, Shiro. Now that Hunk’s got Blue mostly operational, we connected our scanners to her to double check, and she seemed to agree; I think we’ve found him.”

Hunk crushes the smallest paladin in a massive hug. “You’re a genius Pidge!” He exclaims, emotional at the thought that they could finally save Lance.

“There’s one slight issue though,” Coran adds, sounding worried. “We contacted some allies in the neighboring system, and they said they detected Haggar’s ship passing though about the same time that we… that they got him.”

Hunk retains his hold on Pidge, out of fear now rather than glee. Shiro grits his teeth almost imperceptibly. Keith feels his own heart race with newfound urgency.  
Allura’s eyes harden. “Then we must get Lance out of there at once. Who knows what that witch has done already.”

The team nods in agreement and begin to devise a plan.

 

***

 

Lance has lost track of what day it is. Whenever he wakes, Haggar returns to sift through his memories, and despite his efforts to fend her off, he is forced to relive all of the failures he has experienced throughout his life or wander through the castle as she gleans more information about it, among other things. These encounters leave him feeling exhausted and weak, and when Haggar is satisfied, she injects him with that clear liquid that sends him off to a sleep plagued by nightmares. When he finally awakes, even more tired than he was before he slept, the process starts over. He’s not sure anymore what is real and what are dreams.

At some point he’s released from the table and dragged into a dark cell, with one arm chained to the wall. He supposes that after so many cycles of this torment, they know he is too weak to fight.

Haggar is with him now, sifting through his memories of peace treaties with various planets when a large boom shakes their surroundings. Haggar and Lance are shoved back into reality as the walls around them tremble. Lance is unsure if he is aboard a ship or inside a building, but he knows they are under attack. He feels the slightest bit of hope bubble up in his chest as a soldier bursts into the room to inform Haggar that the Voltron lions have appeared. Lance tries to fight through the exhaustion clouding his mind. Is this real? Are his friends really here? He reaches his mind out for Blue, but he’s too exhausted to feel her. Or this is another dream. He can’t be sure. Haggar and the soldier rush from the room, leaving Lance alone in the dark.

Another blast rocks the walls, and Lance sinks to the dirty floor, eyes half closed, trying to clear his mind. He listens to the sounds of combat around him, footsteps rushing past his cell.

Suddenly, the blaster sounds seem closer, and Lance could swear he hears the distinct sound of a sword slicing though metal and armor. After some time, the sound of combat dies down.

“Lance! Lance are you here?”

There’s banging sound a few cells down, as if someone is pounding on the doors. Lance staggers to his feet.

“Keith? Holy crow, Keith is that you?”

“Lance!” more hurried footsteps, then the door to his cell slides open. Faint purple light floods in and Lance squints against it, but Keith wastes no time in rushing forward.

Lance tries to meet him but gets yanked back by the chain on his wrist. He stumbles, but Keith surges forward and catches him before he falls.

“Keith, holy shit, I have never been so glad to see that stupid mullet!” Lance exclaims as the red paladin slices through the chains, leaving the shackle and a small length of chain still attached to Lance in his haste. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re rescuing you, idiot! Now come on, can you walk?”

Lance nods and takes a few steps on his own before collapsing into Keith. Keith takes a moment to examine his gaunt face with dark circles under his eyes as the taller boy leans on him.

“God, Lance, did they even feed you?”

Lance shrugs weakly. “Dunno.”

Anger surges in Keith’s eyes as he looks as Lance, leaning on him just to stand. Lance barely hears Pidge in Keith’s ear, “Keith, I found where his armor and bayard are being kept. I can get to them from here. Do you have him?”

The three paladins and two Alteans wait on the other end of the line with bated breath. “I have him.” Keith responds, and they all exclaim or sigh in relief collectively. “He’s not in great shape, I don’t know what they did to him but-”

“We can sort that out once he’s back in the castle.” Allura interjects. “Get him out of there now, Keith. Pidge, get his armor quickly. Hunk and Shiro can only keep up this distraction for so long just the two of them.”

“On it!” The red and green paladins respond, and the comms go silent.

“Come on,” Keith says, hoisting Lance up to get a better grip around his waist, “let’s get you home.”

Lance opens his mouth to respond when suddenly Haggar appears behind Keith. Frantically, he throws all of his weight onto Keith and the two paladins fall to the ground just as a burst of dark energy collides with the wall behind them. Keith crawls out from under him and stands to face Haggar, approaching them with her hand outstretched. Keith roars in anger as he surges towards her, sword arcing through the air. She disappears just as he connects, and reappears a few feet away, cackling at him.

Keith regains his balance and prepares to charge again when she waves her hand over him and he freezes. Struggling against the magic, he looks around frantically for a solution.

Haggar approaches Lance slowly, he’s still on the floor, but he backs away from her until he collides with Keith’s legs. Lance is frozen in place just as Keith is, but only Keith is under a spell.

Haggar laughs cruelly and unfreezes Keith, who topples over Lance.

“Take him back then,” she spits. “But you were right, you know. He’s not the paladin you lost a week ago.” Her laughter echoes in the small cell long after she has disappeared.

 

***

 

As soon as Keith and Red land in the hanger with Lance, Allura orders Hunk and Shiro to return. Pidge is already waiting inside the castle, Lance’s armor and bayard retrieved without major incident. Once all five paladins are safely within the hanger, Allura wormholes the Castle across the galaxy. When the Castle settles, everyone slowly turns to face Lance, still held up by Keith.

He smiles weakly, “hey everybody, did you miss me?”

Hunk rushes at him first, scooping him from Keith’s arms and enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. “Oh my quiznack, buddy I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Pidge worms their way into the embrace and the three friends stand in a silent embrace for a moment, fighting back tears. Allura and Coran enter the hanger in a rush.

“Hunk let go of him!” She demands. “We don’t know what kind of physical damage-”

“I don’t think they fed him, princess.” Keith explains, stepping aside to allow the Alteans to examine Lance, who is still leaning against Hunk although the hug has ended. Shiro steps forward and places a hand on Lance’s free shoulder.

“No physical damage,” Lance mutters. “Just mind stuff. But I’m fine, I-”

“Let’s get him some food,” Shiro suggests, still holding Lance’s shoulder. “And give him some space. Hunk, would you go get something prepared while Keith and I help him to the med bay?”

Hunk nods and allows Keith to slip in between him and Lance, taking on the taller boy’s weight.

“I’m fine, really,” Lance insists. “I can walk guys,” he takes another shaky step before Shiro and Keith catch him.

“Lance, stop playing the tough guy and let us help you! That’s how you got captured in the first place!” Keith doesn’t mean to sound angry, but that’s how it comes out. Pidge jabs him in the ribs, and he knows he deserves it. He tries to look at Lance apologetically, but the taller boy won’t meet his eyes.

Pidge breaks the following silence. “I’ll go with Coran to prepare some medical equipment,” they suggest, and the pair follow Hunk out the door.

Shiro just sighs as he takes Lance’s other arm and the three of them walk silently out the door, escorted by Allura. She tries asking Lance questions about what happened, but he refuses to say anything other than “Mind stuff. No big deal, really.”

 

Keith keeps thinking about what Haggar had said before she’d disappeared; _He’s not the paladin you lost a week ago._ He watches silently as Pidge and Coran use different medical machines to assess Lance’s physical condition. Lance silently endures it all without protest until Coran retrieves a small syringe from a drawer, explaining that “We’re just going to take a little blood, make sure they didn’t drug you with anything,”

Lance scrambles back, eyes locked on the needle, and Shiro rushes forward to calm him down and hold him still, grasping him by the shoulders.

“Lance! Lance look at me!” He exclaims, then continues more calmly, “we’re not going to hurt you, we just need to know what they did so we can help you. Lance, you have to let Coran do this, we have to know-”

Lance is trembling visibly, eyes still locked on the syringe in Coran’s hand.

Keith can’t take it. He leaves the room unnoticed and lets his feet take him wherever they want to go. He ends up, of course, at the training deck. He scoffs and turns away, knowing that no amount of robot-slashing is going to make him forget the fear in Lance’s eyes.

 

***

 

Another week later, and life on the ship has returned to something close to normal. Lance is still jumpy and a little slow during training, so Shiro has been going easy on all of them. Mealtimes are less tense, but still not as lively as they used to be. Lance is trying hard to appear fine, but Keith can see that the bags under his eyes haven’t disappeared, even as his cheeks had filled back in due to Hunk’s diligent food regimen. He laughs when he’s expected to, jokes when he has the opportunity, and continues to flirt with alien women that they meet, but it all seems halfhearted. Empty. His eyes often glaze over halfway through conversations, and he seems distant and shut-off.

Late one night, or at least, at the time when all other inhabitants of the castle are asleep and most of the lights are off, Keith makes his way to the training deck. He rarely sleeps through the night, even as a child in foster care he always seemed to be on alert. He couldn’t quite relax enough to sleep that deeply. When he opens the door to the training deck, he finds it already occupied. Lance is there wearing his blue paladin pajamas, blasting at training drones as they surround him.

He’s still sluggish and jumpy at the same time, Keith can tell by the way he jolts from one enemy to the next but delays before pulling the trigger. Finally, one robot stuns him, and he collapses onto his hands and knees, panting heavily.

“Simulation failed” a robotic voice chimes as the drones retreat, leaving Lance alone on the ground, bayard cast aside.

Keith swallows nervously and considers leaving, but then he hears small sobs coming from Lance’s hunched form. He approaches Lance and crouches beside him, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. Lance jumps at the contact.

“Hey,” Keith says lamely. Suddenly his mind is blank. He’s not really one for comforting pep talks or touchy-feely conversations. He drops his hand to his side.

Lance quickly dries his face and sniffs, trying to regain composure. “Wh-what are you doing here? I thought everyone was asleep.”

Keith adjusts so he’s sitting more comfortably on the ground. “Nah, I never sleep.” He shrugs. “What about you?”

Lance shrugs back, looking away from Keith’s imploring gaze. “I uh, haven’t really been able to sleep. You know, since the whole uh… the whole thing.”

Keith nods, and they sit in silence for a moment.

“Shiro told me they found nightmare serum in your system.” Keith says bluntly. They haven’t really spoken directly since they were in Lance’s cell aboard Haggar’s ship. Keith just can’t bear the sight of those sad eyes that used to be so full of light. Seeing Lance look so defeated tears at his chest in an unfamiliar way, and the only means Keith has of handling that is ignoring it, which means avoiding Lance.

Lance nods, still not looking at Keith. “Coran says its out of my system, but I just… I dunno, man. I can’t relax. I feel like the second I fall asleep something bad is gonna happen. Or I’ll just have more nightmares.” He shrugs again. “It’s dumb….”

“Lance, it’s not dumb.” Keith asserts. A tentative idea begins to form in his head, but he’s afraid to voice it aloud.

“I know I’m in a heavily fortified space castle ship with five sentient lions and all my friends around I just… I just don’t quite feel safe, you know?”

“Yeah,” Keith sighs. “I know.”

They sit in silence for a while longer before Keith builds up the courage to suggest: “what if I, like, chilled in your room while you slept?”

“What?”

“It might make you feel safer,” Keith rushed to explain, “I’ll just sit by your desk with a book or something and make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

Quiznack, that sounded gay.

Lance is silent for a minute, finally looking at him. He examines Keith’s face for any signs of teasing or a joke before giving in and nodding.

“Yeah, yeah that might help,” he concedes.

“Great, cool,” Keith coughs, “yeah because the team can’t really function until you’re feeling better, so I’m just helping out for the sake of the team, of course.”

Lance looks away again. “Right.”

 

They stop by the library and Keith grabs a book in Altean for him to practice with before heading to Lance’s room. It’s in the same hallway as the other paladin’s bedrooms, only one door down from Keith’s own room. Keith follows Lance inside and settles down at his desk chair, propping his feet up on the desk and cracking open the book as Lance turns out the light and climbs into his bed.

Keith sighs as he looks at the book in the dark, suddenly realizing a very serious flaw in this idea.

“Hey, Keith?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks for this.”

“No problem, Lance.” Maybe the idea wasn’t terrible after all.

 

 

Keith is sitting silently in Lance’s chair and, being unable to read in the dark, entertains himself by glancing around Lance’s room once his eyes adjust. After he’s taken in all the small knick-knacks and tokens Lance seems to have collected during their adventures in space, he resigns himself to staring up at the ceiling and waiting for time to pass, listening to Lance’s soft snores.

He’s nearly dozed off himself when he hears a shift in Lance’s breathing. Looking over to the bed, he sees Lance’s hands gripped onto the sheets and a sheen of sweat reflecting the soft starlight from his window. Keith stands abruptly but is frozen for a few ticks, until Lance gasps and Keith rushes to him, kneeling by the bed and shaking his fellow paladin awake.

“Lance,” he whispers, clasping his shoulder, “Lance, wake up, you’re okay. It’s just a dream, Lance wake up!”

Lace jolts upwards, nearly smacking into Keith, who has to quickly move his head out of the way. He’s looking around frantically and panting heavily. His eyes eventually settle on Keith, and he exhales slowly, letting his eyelids flutter closed.  
Keith’s hand is still on Lance’s shoulder, and just as Keith wonders if he should remove it, Lance leans into the touch, sighing heavily and dropping his face into his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay Lance. You’re safe, I’m here. We’re all right here.” Keith rubs small circles into Lance’s back as he whispers comforting words.

They sit there in silence for a while, Lance trying to control his breathing and Keith muttering small reassurances to him in the dark.

“That nightmare serum,” Lance finally says, still hiding his face in his hands, “it… I just kept dreaming about my family dying. And you guys, too. I couldn’t save anyone. I was always too late, too slow, too-”

“Lance, we’re all safe, I promise. And we’re a team for a reason, it’s not your job alone to keep us safe. We all watch out for each other.”

“But my family, Keith,” Lance lifts his head and Keith can see his face shining with tears. “I have no way of knowing if they’re okay, and they have no way of knowing that I’m even alive.”

After a moment’s contemplation, Keith stands up and settles on the bed next to Lance, carefully pulling him into a hug.

“They’re okay, Lance. I promise, they’re fine. The Galra haven’t gone near Earth since we left with Blue, we know that. And… and I’m sure they miss you as much as you miss them, but…” he trails off, unsure how to finish. Keith’s never had a family, the closest thing he ever had was Shiro. He thought back to how he felt when Shiro had gone missing during the Kerberos mission. So angry and scared, and achingly desperate. Is that how Lance feels all the time?

“You’ll see them again, Lance.” He finishes uncertainly. Lance sighs and leans into him.

“Thanks, Keith. I hope you’re right.”

They sit in silence for a while, Keith still rubbing circles into Lance’s back as the taller boy leans into him.

“Hey Keith?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll remember this bonding moment.”

Keith is grateful for the darkness that hides the rush of heat in his cheeks at the sentiment.

 

***

 

The next day at breakfast, Lance eats his whole serving without being prompted, and laughs with Pidge a little brighter. Hunk explains the repairs he made to Blue in his absence, and Lance is able to concentrate through the whole conversation. Lance even calls Keith “Mullet” when he asks him to pass some more food goo. Keith is relieved that after a few good hours of sleep, Lance already seems more like himself. He blushes a little at the thought that he did that. He, Keith Kogane, helped a friend in a way that didn’t involve beating anyone up.

“Helloooo? Earth to Keith? Well, I guess, Castle to Keith?”

“Huh?” Keith snaps back to reality and meets Lance’s gaze. “You said something?”

“I suggested we all watch the bootleg copy of Star Wars that Pidge got at the space mall. You in?”

Keith crosses his arm in suspicion. “Which movie is it?”

“The Phantom Menace,” Pidge answers through their mouth of food goo.  
Keith wrinkles his nose, “The prequels? Those weren’t even good when we were on Earth, you want to watch one after we’ve been in space for… well, however long we’ve been in space for?”

Lance laughs, a real laugh, and Keith swears his heart doesn’t skip a beat. Nope, not at all.

“That’s the fun, Mullet. Nothing’s better than a bad movie!” Lance wriggles his eyebrows at Keith, and the red paladin can’t suppress the small laugh that bubbles up inside him.

“Yeah, alright. Sure, let’s watch a terrible movie about space.” Keith throws his hands up in defeat, trying to act more annoyed than he feels, and trying harder to ignore the jolt in his chest as Lance pumps his fist into the air and whoops with excitement.

 

***

 

As the day draws on, Keith feels anxiety beginning to bubble in his stomach. Did Lance expect him back tonight? Or was he fine? Should he offer again, or would that be too forward?

Ultimately too nervous to propose the idea a second time, Keith bids the team goodnight after dinner and retires to his own room.

Vargas pass in increasing frustration as he attempts to study Altean, with little success. Pidge had picked it up so quickly, but Keith has been struggling for months now. Just as he’s about to quit and maybe head down to the training deck, Keith hears a soft knock on his door. His heart leaps, but he quickly tries to calm it as he hurries to the door.

It slides open to reveal a very disheveled Lance, dressed in his usual pajamas and his blue lion slippers.

“Lance?”

“Oh, uh… hey Keith! Fancy seeing you here,” he seems suddenly embarrassed, looking anywhere but at Keith’s face and running his fingers through his bedhead.

“Lance, this is my bedroom. You knew I would be here.” Keith crosses his arms, not really sure how to feel. He definitely should not be feeling that warmth in his chest in response to Lance’s flustered appearance.

“Well, uh, yeah. You’re right about that I guess.” Lance stammers, looking over his shoulder. He sighs deeply. “Sorry, this is dumb. I should go-”

He turns to leave, but Keith grabs him above the elbow and spins the taller boy to face him again, locking eyes.

“Did you have another nightmare?”

Lance swallows, looking away again, and nods.

Keith, suddenly aware of Lance’s warmth underneath his hand, releases his arm and coughs awkwardly.

“You can, uh, come try to sleep in my bed if you want?” Keith tries hard to control his voice, but he’s sure he sounds a little too hopeful anyway.

This seems to be the response Lance was hoping for, as he nods quickly and steps into the room. “Thanks, buddy. I owe you one.”

Lance follows Keith into the room and kicks his slippers off by the bed before curling up in it. Keith stands awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do. His brain seems to have short-circuited. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought about Lance in his bed before, but not under these exact circumstances.

“Hey Mullet, quit staring. Also, it’s freezing in here, how do you sleep like this?”

“I don’t, remember?”

“Shut up and get in here.”

“W-what!?”

Lance rolls his eyes. “I need a space heater,” he says flatly. “Your room is an icebox. Have you ever touched the thermostat in here?”

Keith blinks, brain still short-circuited. “We have thermostats?”

Lance laughs and scoots over, raising his eyebrows expectantly at Keith, and that’s enough to break the spell over the red paladin. He shrugs off his jacket and kicks off his boots before turning off the light and climbing into the bed next to Lance, still in his jeans and tee shirt.

They sit there in silence in the dark for a moment, shoulder to shoulder. Keith’s heart is racing but his mind is completely blank. Lance is in his bed. Lance is in his bed.

Keith blinks again. Lance is straight. He reminds himself. He’s way more interested in pretty alien girls with pointed ears and silver hair. Keith is pretty much the opposite of that. Well, he had recently found out that he was half alien, but he’s still as average and human looking as someone could be. And he’s half bad alien. He-

“Keith?”

He jumps a little. “Uh, yeah?”

“What are you thinking about?” Lance rolls over onto his side, so he’s facing Keith, and props his head up on his hand.

Keith remains on his back and sighs. “It’s nothing.”

“Then why are you frowning so hard? If it’s me, I can-”

“No, no it’s not you Lance.” He sighs again. “I was thinking about the whole ‘half-galra’ thing, I guess.”

“What about it?”

“What do you mean ‘what about it?’ Lance, it’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“Well that’s just stupid. You’re Keith. Same Keith you’ve always been. Way too hot-headed for your own good, always rushing into things headfirst, willing to do anything for your team, and in dire need of a haircut.” Lance’s voice lifts into a teasing tone at the last part, and he reaches forward to twirl the ends of Keith’s hair between his long fingers.

Keith’s breath catches in his throat, and Lance drops the strands immediately, clearing his own throat.

“I’m just saying, you’ve been half-galra the whole time. Knowing it doesn’t change anything about you.” He adds to cover up the affectionate touch.

“But Allura-”

“Allura, shmallura,” Lance says dismissively, surprising Keith enough for him to prop himself up the way Lance had. “She’ll get over it, Keith. It’s stupid of her to be upset with you, your great great great Galra granddaddy wasn’t even alive yet when the Galra destroyed Altea. Probably. It’s not like you’re the one who blew up her planet.”

“Then why is she acting like I am?” Keith flops back down onto the mattress so hard Lance loses his balance and falls onto him. They lock eyes for a moment, both shocked and holding their breath, before Lance scrambles away muttering a small apology.

They settle shoulder to shoulder again, laying in silence for a moment before Keith continues.

“Team Voltron is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family,” Keith sighs. “I’m… I’m terrified to lose it.”

“The thing about families,” Lance says softly, “is that they stick with you through thick and thin. They love you even at your worst. Like this one time, my oldest sister got caught sneaking out to see a boy my parents hated, and Mom was so pissed when she found her bed empty. Or this other time, when I crashed mom’s car into a tree trying to change the radio station-”

“That’s unsurprising, given the way you pilot spaceships,” Keith’s jest earns him a small punch in the shoulder, but he just laughs.

“The point is, Keith, yeah, my mom was mad at us, but she still loved us. We’re still family. She just grounded us for a weekend and then things were back to normal.”

“Well, Allura can’t ground me.” Keith hufs stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Nah, but she’ll get over this in time. Trust me. Things will be normal again before you know it.” He offers Keith a reassuring smile, and Keith returns it.  
Hopefully, not everything returns to normal. Bickering with Lance is fun and all, and beating him at all his declared competitions is more satisfying than Keith will admit, but a small (and very gay) part of him hopes that they hold onto moments like this too.

Keith opens his mouth to speak but is greeted by the sound of Lance’s soft snores, already becoming familiar. He rolls over onto his side, facing away from Lance as if that will quell the strange feeling in his chest. There’s no way I can sleep like this, he thinks. But before he knows it, he’s drifting off, lulled to sleep by Lance’s subtle snores and the warmth coming from his body, even though they’re not touching. It’s one thing to share a bed with your teammate, Keith things as sleep begins to take him, but cuddling would probably be over the line….

 

***

 

They awake to blaring alarms and flashing red lights. Allura yells over the intercoms “a Galra fleet has just appeared a system away, heading straight towards us! Paladins, get to your lions immediately!”

Keith is awake instantly, but Lance is slower to stir. Keith twists in Lance’s arms to face the taller boy, about to wake him up when-

Wait a minute….

Keith looks down to confirm that the weight he’s feeling is what he thinks it is, and indeed sees Lance’s arm draped around his waist. As the alarm continues to blare, Lance pulls him in closer, mumbling “five more minutes…” into his hair.

Keith blinks into Lance’s chest. Had they slept… spooning?

The alarm continues, but it’s fading in Keith’s mind as he freezes, facing the still sleeping boy in shock. How did that happen? He’s staring, mouth slightly agape, when Lance finally jerks awake.

“What’s happening?” He asks, suddenly alert.

“You tell me!” Keith yells, feeling panicked and pulling away suddenly. “I don’t know how we got like this!”

“What? No, Keith, the alarm! What’s happening?”

Keith feels his face get as red as his armor.

“Oh, uhh… Galra?” He offers weakly.

“Well shit Keith, why didn’t you wake me up! We gotta move!” Lance leaps out of bed and looks around frantically for his armor before remembering that he’s in

Keith’s bedroom, not his own. He bolts out the door yelling “last one to their lion loses!”

“Loses what?” Keith demands, but Lance is gone, his scent lingering on the sheets the only indication that he had really, truly, been there.

 

***

 

Lance settles into Blue’s cockpit for the first time since he’s been back with Voltron, and he feels himself pause. He’s been taking time to repair and clean her, and she’s back to being fully operational since the last fight, but Lance has been avoiding the cockpit. Something about sitting in this seat, knowing that he could fail again just as easily as he did last time….

“Ha!” Keith’s voice crackles in his ear over a private com line. “I made it to my lion first!”

“What! No, I was in mine before you said anything, I just….” He trails off, not knowing what to say.

Keith’s image pops on up Blue’s control panel, his bangs falling into his violet eyes not enough to hide their earnest expression. “Lance, you can do this. We’re a team, remember? We keep each other safe.”

“But I… I failed last time Keith. We almost lost Blue.”

“We all failed on that mission Lance.” Keith replies steadily.

“What?”

“We failed to protect you. We… we lost you.” Something forlorn flickers in Keith’s eyes before they settle into a determined look. “We won’t let that happen again, Lance. You are just as important to this team as Blue.”

Suddenly, Keith cries out and his image flickers; something must have hit Red.

“Come on, Lance, we need you out here.” He grits through his teeth, firing back. “We’re not Team Voltron without you.”

Lance steels himself, fortified by Keith’s words. “I’m on my way!” Blue hums in the back of his mind, and he launches them into space to meet his fellow paladins.

 

***

 

Days blend into weeks, and Lance and Keith continue spending nights together. Lance’s nightmares have lessened in frequency, but when they come they’re still devastating. Keith is happy to be there for him, shushing his apologies and rubbing his back comfortingly. Truthfully, Keith isn’t sure how much more of this his little gay heart can take, but he can’t seem to break it off either. Sleeping with Lance is just so… well, nice. Keith has never shared a bed with anyone before, and he finds it much easier to sleep next to the warmth of another person. It doesn’t hurt that, every night without fail, Lance latches onto him in his sleep, pulling him close and nuzzling into him. Keith has never been touched like this before, and now that he’s had a taste he can’t seem to let it go. He’s craving Lance’s touch all throughout the day, chasing any contact he can get.

And maybe he’s crazy, but Lance seems to be doing the same thing. The boys are always next to each other during mission debriefings, meal times, in the common rooms, and of course, at night. When they lay down, limbs seek each other out and tangle together comfortably, and each night Keith wonders how much longer he can take this sweet torture, before falling into a restful sleep, lulled by Lance’s warmth next to him. They have an unspoken agreement that this, whatever this is, stays between them, but keeping it from the team becomes increasingly challenging.

“Lance, there you are!” Hunk exclaims as he enters the kitchen, finding Lance and Keith eating together in a comfortable silence. “I stopped by your room this morning looking for you, but you weren’t there.”

Lance and Keith exchange a quick look before Lance offers, “Sorry buddy, I uhh… got up early and went for a stroll around the castle. What did you need?”

Keith can’t focus on the following conversation, too busy trying to act natural and definitely not succeeding.

 

***

 

That night, Lance excuses himself from dinner a little too soon after Keith does so, causing a raised eyebrow from Shiro and an exchanged eyeroll between Pidge and Hunk. Whatever, too late now.

He hurries towards the elevator, hoping to catch Keith before he gets in. Oh man, I’ve got it bad he thinks to himself, but he hurries along all the same, practically jogging.

As he rounds the corner, he sees the elevator doors begin to slide closed, obscuring a red-clad figure.

“Hey!” Lance calls, “Hold the door, Mullet!”

Keith’s pale hand catches the door just before it closes. Thankfully, Altean elevators have the same don’t-close-on-a-hand protocol as elevators on Earth. The doors slide open as Lance jogs up to them.

As he steps into the elevator, Keith examines him for a moment before asking, “are you out of breath?”

“What? No!” Lance huffs, trying to control his breathing. Okay, maybe he’d gone a step above jogging for a bit there. I’m in deep, he worries to himself, suddenly afraid to meet Keith’s eyes.

After regaining control of his traitorous lungs, Lance turns to Keith. “So, I’ve been thinking, since I’m feeling a lot better, it’s time to get back into my skincare routine. Those helmets really dry out your skin if you’re not careful. Honestly, whoever designed them had no idea what they were doing.”

“That would have been King Alfor. And I’d say he knew what he was doing, Lance.” Keith corrects him and rolls his eyes, but there’s no real snark in it.

“Yeah well my skin is dying for some moisture.” Lance leans in towards Keith, examining his face carefully.

“Uhh… Lance? What are you doing?” Keith’s violet eyes, only inches from Lance’s, are wide and searching.

“Examining your skin, what does it look like I’m doing?”

Keith exhales suddenly, as if he’d been holding his breath, and Lance feels the puff of hot air on his cheek. He leans back suddenly, clearing his throat.

“You need one too.”

“One what?”

“A facemask!”

“…a what? Lance, what do costumes have to do with anything?”

Lance sputters, searching Keith’s face for any indication that he’s joking but receiving none.

“Costume?” He yells incredulously as the elevator dings. They step into the hallway as Lance continues. “Keith, your poor skin has never seen a facemask in its life!?”

“Uh, well one Halloween I went as the blue power ranger-”

“No no no, Keith, not a mask for your face! It’s a… well… a different kind of mask for your face.” He sighs. “Just follow me, I’ll show you.”

He grabs Keith by the wrist and drags him through his room and into the bathroom, immediately rifling through the medicine cabinet.

“Aha!” Lance procures a jar of purple goo triumphantly. “I picked this up in Luxia’s kingdom, it’s made of space algae and mixed with finely crushed coral. The coral exfoliates to remove dead skin, and the algae hydrates the healthy skin beneath it. It works a lot like the scrub I used to make with my sister Veronica out of honey and sugar, but better because it’s all space ingredients! Keith, this stuff is like magic! Well, not real magic like that freaky stuff Haggar does or the glowy stuff Allura does, but like, normal, non-threatening, skin magic.”

When Lance’s eyes finally settle on Keith, he can tell that the red paladin has registered absolutely none of what he’d said. He blinks.

“So… what do you so with it?” Keith finally asks.

Lance can’t help his jaw from dropping.

“Keith, you rub it on your skin. How have you never even heard of a face mask?”

“Well my dad and I didn’t exactly swap beauty tips before he died, and skin care isn’t really a hot topic in an all-boys orphanage. And I definitely didn’t learn anything about magic seaweed goo at the Garrison.” Keith’s arms are crossed defensively, and his brow furrowed deeply. Those pretty eyes are suddenly guarded, and Lance can practically feel Keith’s temper rising.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Lance’s brain is scrambling for ways to deescalate. “Keith, I didn’t think about it like that, I… I’m really sorry.”

Keith sighs. “It’s okay Lance, I just…” he eyes the jar warily, “this is just unfamiliar, I guess.”

“Hey,” Lance places a hand on Keith’s shoulder tentatively, ducking a little to meet his downcast eyes. “You’ve been helping me with this nightmare stuff, right? So, I’ll help you out with self-care stuff!”

“What?”

“I’ll teach you everything you need to know about facemasks and bubble baths and-”

“Bubble baths!?” Keith croaks the word out, his eyes wide again.

“Fine, fine, nix the bubble baths. We’ll do some meditations or something, okay? We’ll work our way up as you get comfortable with stuff. Starting with a facemask!” He holds the bottle out with one hand and gestures to it like a salesman with the other.

Keith’s shoulders slowly relax and he nods hesitantly. “Okay, okay yeah. I can do a facemask. I can do that.” He pauses. “So, uh… what do I do first?”

Lance smiles at Keith’s tentative expression. He’s seen Keith charge headfirst into hordes of Galra soldiers armed with nothing but a sword and shield without flinching. He’s seen him fly Red into battles where they were beyond outnumbered without hesitation. He thought there was nothing that could scare Keith. But now, presented with a facemask, Keith seems more unsure than Lance has ever seen him. It’s… endearing. He feels heat bloom in his chest as he tears his eyes away to unscrew the jar. A salty scent drifts from the bottle, and Lance pauses for a moment to breathe it in. This mask is his favorite that he’s collected while in space, not because of how well it works, but because the smell reminds him of home.

“First, we’ll have to tame the mullet.”

“Lance-” Keith warns, shoulders rising again.

“With a hair tie,” Lance rolls his eyes, “not scissors. Calm down.”

Keith relaxes and exhales. “Okay, yeah, I have one here.” He pulls a hair tie from his wrist and draws his hair back into a high ponytail at the crown of his head.

Lance gulps, and he hopes it’s not audible. Keith’s bangs still fall into his eyes, but with the rest of his hair up his face looks much more… open. Lance has never seen Keith with his hair up, but holy crow. He’s staring at Lance through his bangs with those big, pretty eyes, as if he’s waiting for something… _quiznack! He’s waiting for me to tell him what to do and I’m ogling at him like an idiot!_

Lance clears his throat in an attempt to clear his head. “Right, well your bangs are still down so we’ll need to pin those back…” he trails off as he grabs a few hair pins off the counter and, without really thinking, closes the distance between him and Keith to pin his bangs aside. Keith’s eyes are wide, unwaveringly locked onto Lance’s face, and he seems to be holding his breath again. Lance steps back to admire his handiwork. “There, that’s better. Now you’re ready! Here, let’s go sit down.”

He leads Keith to his bed, where they sit cross-legged opposite each other. Keith has his hands folded in his lap, patiently waiting for Lance to tell him what to do next.

Lance bites on his lip subconsciously as he thinks. He examines Keith’s face, his whole face, possibly for the first time without his angsty mop of mullet obscuring his features. Now, as much as Lance teased Keith about the mullet, he has to admit the guy really pulls it off. Normally, his hair frames and obscured his face in a way that’s both pretty and mysterious and drives Lance absolutely mad. But now, like this, with all his hair pinned back, Lance can see the real Keith. All his walls are down, and he’s trusting Lance completely. Well, maybe not completely, but certainly more than he ever has before. Even when they share a bed, it’s always Lance who’s the vulnerable one, Lance who wakes up with night terrors, clinging to Keith for comfort.

He strengthens his resolve with a deep breath and scoots forward, dipping two fingers into the jar. He reaches his hand, now covered in purple goo, towards Keith questioningly.

“Mind if I put yours on for you?” Lance asks, quickly adding, “to show you how it’s done.”

Keith pauses for a moment, eyeing his dripping fingers, and Lance swears neither of them are breathing. Then the pale boy nods slightly even as he bites his lip hesitantly.

Lance flashes a relieved smile and shifts onto his knees to reach Keith’s face better. “Great. Now hold still…”

He runs his goo-covered fingers down Keith’s cheek before returning them to the jar for more goo. After a few strokes, Keith seems to unwind a little, relaxing into the touch.

“So, you said you used to do this with your sister?”

“Yeah, mom taught her how to make her own face masks when she was maybe twelve? I was still in elementary school and I just wanted to be included at first, but then I found I really enjoyed it. I loved mixing different ingredients and making my own recipes for different masks, and I’d try out all my new ones on my siblings. We’d do at-home spa nights, they’d all line up on the couch to try the latest McClain Mystery Mask, even my older brother. While they dried, my siblings would try to guess what was in it while we watched a movie or something. My younger siblings, they’re twins, and they started eating some right off their faces to try and guess what the ingredients were.” Lance laughs at the fond memories. “After that, I had to be careful to use only ingestible ingredients. Mask nights were one of the things I missed the most about home while I was at the Garrison. One of the things I miss the most now, too.”  
Lance notices that Keith’s smiling softly, eyes half-closed and unfocused.

“Sounds like you and your family are close.” He muses.

Lance hesitates, not wanting to upset Keith. “Yeah,” he finally sighs. “I miss them more than anything. I just wish they knew I was okay. You know, most of the time.”

The boys laugh lightly as Lance finishes applying the last bits of goo, smoothing and evening it out, cherishing the sensation of running his fingers across Keith’s face. Lance contemplates telling Keith that smiling will disrupt the mask but quickly decides against it. He likes seeing Keith smile, and it doesn’t happen that often.

“Alright, now you just have to let it dry for fifteen dobashes and then you can wash it off in the sink, and your skin will be as good as new!” Lance makes to stand up as he adds, “I’m gonna run to the bathroom and put mine on in the mirror.”

“I can do it” Keith offers, “if you want?”

Lance smiles and settles back down onto the bed. “Yeah, okay.” He hands Keith the bottle and the red paladin rises to his knees as well. He hesitates a moment before plunging his fingers into the jar and pulling out far too much goo in one scoop.

Lance laughs, “I like your enthusiasm, but you don’t need that much. Just a thin, smooth, and even layer all over the skin.”

“Right, okay. I can do this,” His brow furrows in concentration, crinkling Lance’s handiwork.

“Keith,” Lance laughs again, “it’s a relaxing facemask, not a life or death mission.”

Keith cracks a small smile and nods, wiping some of the goo back into the jar before reaching out to apply the remainder to Lance’s cheek. His eyes instantly flutter closed, and he leans forward.

Between the smell of the ocean and Keith’s gentle touch, Lance can’t help but project his mind back to when his mom first taught him and Veronica how to use a facemask. They had sat eagerly at the kitchen table as she carefully applied the mask to their faces, humming as she did. Without fully realizing it, Lance starts softly humming the same song his mom hummed that day. It’s a love song in Spanish, one of her favorites. She used to sing it when she cooked, and sometimes Lance’s father would sweep her away from the stove in his arms and they would dance across the kitchen, singing it together and laughing until something started to boil over, and even then, the laughter would continue. Lance knows all the words to this song, but he hasn’t thought of it much since leaving Earth. The memory is so warm, he was afraid that revisiting it would tinge it with sadness and loneliness. But now, with Keith’s fingers running across his face, his breath coming in warm, steady puffs, Lance lets the memory of the song surface.

 

***

 

Combat training is going much more smoothly these days, with Lance and Keith working like a well-oiled machine. They watch each other’s backs against the drones, and guide each other through the invisible maze confidently, Pidge and Hunk exchanging confused looks the entire time.

“Alright team listen up.” Shiro starts, “With combat training going so well, I think it’s time we direct our attention to strengthening our mental link. Coran, do you still have those headsets?”

“Of course, chief!” He responds enthusiastically. “Be back with them in a tick!”

 

Sitting in a circle, headsets on and eyes closed, the paladins focus on melding their minds, sharing memories with one another. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell who’s sharing, like in the case of watching the rocket to Kerberos launch, vision blurred by tears. That could be Pidge or Keith. Shiro responds with his own memories of that moment, sharing excited and nervous looks with the Holts as the G force ripples their cheeks. Hunk shares one of many memories sneaking around the Garrison with Lance, and Lance responds in kind. He procures the memory of them sneaking into the kitchen, but the memory shifts abruptly. Haggar looms overhead, and suddenly what must be Lance’s memories are scrolling through in rapid succession. They flash between memories of home and memories of what must have been visions; a farmhouse being blasted apart by an ion cannon, blue water blossoming with red as cries ring out.

The whole team watches in horror; is this what Lance endured while he was captured? Keith can feel Lance struggling to regain control but faltering as each new image plays out.

Keith isn’t sure which one of them does it, but suddenly the image shifts to a dark room, filled with frantic panting. A comforting hand is outstretched, and someone whispers “You’re safe, I’m here. We’re all right here.”

Keith rips off his headset in panic and feels his consciousness slammed back into his own body. Around him, he can see that the other paladins have returned as well, torn from the vision when he removed the headset. He and Lance refuse to look at each other, both keeping their eyes on the floor in front of them, waiting for someone else to speak.

“Lance, buddy,” Hunk starts, reaching a tentative hand towards his friend, “I had no idea….”

“It’s fine, really.” Lance tries, straightening himself and meeting Hunk’s eyes. “I told you man, just mind stuff. Nothing I can’t handle.”

He shrugs nonchalantly, but his normally dazzling smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Shiro remains uncharacteristically quiet, and when Keith dares to glance his way, he sees those brown eyes boring holes into him. His friend’s face is impossible to read, but Keith’s chest fills with dread. _He knows. He must know._

“Lance, if I had known how bad it was I could have tried to reverse engineer some kind of antidote.” Pidge says, gears visibly turning in their brain.

“Guys, really, I’m fine. Will you stop babying me? That was like, a decapheob ago!”

“Lance, a decaphoeb is about an earth year.” Pidge sighs.

“A varga?”

“Pretty sure that’s an hour.” Hunk offers.

“Split the difference then I guess,” Lance shrugs. “It’s been about a month. I’m fine. I figured it out, alright? Besides, they were just visions. Takes more than that to shake this paladin.”

He’s speaking with false bravado, but Keith can only picture Lance, trembling in the dark, blue eyes blown wide with fear, grasping at his tee shirt and pulling him close for comfort.

“Alright team,” Shiro finally looks away from Keith and breaks his silence. “I think that’s enough for today. Lance, you know we’re all here if you need us. Let’s get some rest gang, we did good work today.”

He stands, clasping Lance’s shoulder briefly on his way out the door, headset discarded where he had been sitting.

 

Keith only manages to avoid Shiro for a few vargas before he’s cornered in a hallway. Keith hoped that if he kept moving throughout the castle aimlessly, Shiro would have a harder time finding him. Apparently, Shiro knew him too well for that to work.

“Keith! There you are. Do you have a minute?”

Keith looks around frantically for anything to use as an excuse, but the only thing near him is an airlock. He briefly considers slipping though the doors and launching himself into space, sans helmet, but eventually decides against it. Sighing, he meets his friend’s eyes.

“Uh, yeah I can spare a few ticks. What’s up?” He knows what’s up. Oh god this is going to go terribly. Keith is trying to look casual, but he just can’t figure out what to do with his hands and is shifting his weight between his feet uncomfortably. The vacuum of space is growing more appealing by the second.

Shiro crosses his arms and his expression softens. “How long has this been going on?”

“Uhh, what… what’s been going on?” Keith stammers. God, he never loses his cool like this. What is his problem?

“Keith, you know what I’m talking about. How long have you and Lance been together?”

“We are not together!” Keith answers a little too loudly, and he clears his throat before continuing more quietly. “It’s nothing like that, Shiro.”

“Uh-huh… so that definitely wasn’t you cuddling with him in his bed in that vision?”

“Um… well… you know, he’s been having these nightmares, and it was bad for the team, and I’m just helping him out for Voltron, okay? That’s it, Shiro.” Shiro looks unconvinced. “I swear!”

Shiro’s expression cracks into something almost like amusement as he shakes his head softly. “Alright Keith. If you say so.” He clasps Keith’s shoulder as he walks past him.

 

***

 

“Keith! Get to the lounge NOW!” Lance’s voice yells over the intercom, startling the red paladin, who is sparring with the Gladiator. The Gladiator takes advantage of his surprise and knocks him on his quiznack. “It’s an EMERGENCY! Keith, report to the lounge IMMEDIATELY!”

“End training!” Keith shouts to shut down the program as he’s running out the door, bayard at the ready.

He bursts through the doors to the lounge panting and sweating, bayard drawn, eyes searching the room for threats. What he sees instead is Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, in their matching paladin pajamas, sprawled out on the couches. Pidge is scrolling through their laptop, but the other two paladins turn to Keith as he enters.

“Hey man. Damn you made it here fast!” Lance smiles, jumping off the couch to greet him.

“Lance,” Keith’s voice is dangerously low, “what the quiznack is going on?”

“I told him that was a bad idea, but he insisted it was the only way to lure you here,” Hunk shrugs apologetically.

“Lure me here? For what?” Keith’s eyes narrow, and he still hasn’t lowered his bayard.

“Movie night part two!” Lance explains excitedly.

“What? Lance, I thought we were under attack!” Keith sputters. “And I came willingly to the last movie night! Why-”

He’s interrupted as his red paladin pajamas fly through the air and hit him in the face.

“Get changed,” Lance interrupts, ignoring Keith’s protests.

“Yeah, uh, we also told him not to go into your room without your permission, but, well, you know, Lance is as stubborn as a yolrak.” Hunk shrugs.

Keith turns back to Lance, still holding his bayard in one hand and his pajamas in the other. Lance winks at him before turning to Pidge.

“Hey Pidge, you got the movie pulled up yet?”

Keith is frozen in place. Lance, _winked_ at him? Oh man, this stupid straight boy was gonna be the death of him.

“Yeah it’s just about ready.” Pidge responds, finally looking up. “Keith, stop standing there staring at Lance like he’s got a second head and go get into pajamas.”

“We didn’t have a dress code last time,” Keith mumbles in protest as he finally vanishes his bayard and steps into the hallway. He checks that it’s abandoned before quickly changing out of his armor and into the pajamas Lance had retrieved for him.

He slips back into the room just as Pidge is setting up the TV.

Keith groans as he flops down on the couch, decidedly as far away from Lance as he could be. “Let me guess, Lance picked the movie?”

“Hey! How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days is a classic romcom!” Lance objects, crossing his arms.

“Romcom?” Keith asks.

“Oh my god, Keith, a romantic comedy. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard the term romcom before?”

“That’s true irony,” Pidge rolls their eyes, earning confused looks from the red and blue paladins and a chuckle from Hunk.

“Anyway,” Hunk changes the subject, “I found this weird Altean juice in a cupboard in the kitchen! I couldn’t read the label, but I thought we could break it out with our space popcorn.”

Pidge takes the bottle and examines the label before smiling mischievously. They quickly twist off the top, sniff the liquid carefully, and take a huge swig.

“Pidge! Gross!” Lance yells, jumping up. “We have to share that bottle! Now it’s got your cooties on it!”

Pidge shrugs. “Alcohol kills germs Lance. Plus, I think being nonbinary makes me devoid of cooties.”

“Wait, alcohol?” Hunk puzzles for a moment. “Hang on! Pidge, you’re an infant! No adult juice for you!”

He lunges for the bottle but Pidge darts away, taking another swig as they run behind the couch.

“I can’t believe you didn’t recognize the nunville bottle!” They cackle as the dodge another lunge, this time from Lance. Unfortunately for Pidge, they lunge right in front of Keith, who snatches the bottle from their hands and takes his own swig.

“Keeeeeeith!” Lance wails. “Cootieeeees!”

Keith rolls his eyes before Pidge interjects, “please, as if you haven’t been trying to catch those cooties since the Garrison.”

Lance’s jaw drops for a moment before he yells “PIDGEON!!!” He lunges for the green paladin, who laughs gleefully and skips out of the way.

The two race around the room, Lance shrieking and Pidge laughing mercilessly, and Keith isn’t sure what to make of what just happened.

“But… Lance is straight?” He mutters to himself.

Pidge screeches to a halt and Lance collides into them. The two fall to the floor and roll off of each other to look up at Keith in bewilderment. Keith looks to Hunk, who is also staring at him, mouth agape. The movie is nothing more than white noise at this point.

Hunk is the first to laugh. “Keith, buddy, Lance is not straight.”

Pidge takes advantage of the stillness in the room to snatch the bottle of nunville from Keith’s slackened grip and takes another swig before adding “You’re more oblivious than I thought, which is truly saying something.”

“You… you didn’t know?” Lance finally asks, his face looking surprisingly crestfallen. He stands to snatch the bottle back and takes his own swig, fear of cooties seemingly forgotten.

“Uhhh, no?” Keith responds, suddenly feeling heat rush to his cheeks with the other paladins’ eyes all trained on him. “You flirt with every girl you see-”

“Correction,” Lance interjects, raising a finger, “I flirt with every _person_ I see. You clearly just haven’t been paying attention.”

He takes another swig as Pidge mutters to Hunk, “clearly,” rolling their eyes.

Keith shakes his head, not sure what to make of the situation.

“Hey, tonight was supposed to be a relaxing, team building night, right?” Lance says suddenly, a suspicious glint in his eye.

“Well, yeah I guess.” Hunk shrugs, finally taking back the nuville bottle and downing his first swig.

“Let’s play dumb sleepover games!” Lance suggests, the movie all but forgotten.

“Hell no,” Pidge shakes their head, “I am not playing spin the bottle with you guys.”

“No no no,” Lance shakes his head. “Never have I ever!”

“God no,” Keith vetoes the idea immediately.

“Fine,” Lance shrugs. “Truth or dare?”

The paladins look at each other, shrugging, and eventually concede.

“Truth or dare it is,” Keith sighs.

 

The bottle of nunville is passed between the three older paladins and kept diligently out of Pidge’s reach, but Pidge is clearly feeling the effects of the sips they stole earlier. Keith is feeling pleasantly buzzed before he knows it. Somehow, he ended up next to Lance in their truth or dare circle.

“Alright Keith,” Pidge grins. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Again?” Lance groans.

So far, Keith has had to do a cartwheel, gargle food goo, juggle bayards, and take a shot of nunville without using his hands.

“Hmmm…” Pidge contemplates a moment before smiling evilly. “Ooooh I got it. Switch clothes with Lance.”

Lance pales and Keith flushes redder than his pajamas. Hunk makes an “oooooooooh” sound and laughs at their horrified faces.

Keith, never one to back down from a challenge, stands up first. “Alright then.” He begins to lift his shirt when Pidge and Hunk yell. Hunk leaps in front of Pidge to cover their eyes and shouts, “not in front of the children, Keith!”

“The children suggested it!” He responds defensively, throwing up his hands in exasperation. “Whatever, come on Lance.”

He grabs his fellow paladin by the wrist and hauls him to his feet, dragging him to the hallway where he changed into his pajamas before. After again checking that the hallway is empty, Keith strips off his shirt. He throws it at Lance, who’s still standing there with his mouth hanging open.

“C’mon, give me yours, it’s cold out here.” Keith starts, holding out his hand. Lance blinks, and quickly strips off his own shirt before handing it to Keith.

A strange moment transpires as they exchange shirts. Keith can’t help but admire Lance’s tan skin stretched tight across lean muscles, extending over long, elegant limbs. Keith is transfixed by the need to reach out touch them, to run his fingers up Lance’s arms and across his back. He longs to tug on that short brown hair, to run his fingers through it. Keith catches himself and blushes. When he finally tears his eyes away, he sees Lance looking at his own body and suddenly feels embarrassed. He’s all pale skin and muscles that show too many dinners skipped in favor of time spent on the training deck. He quickly pulls Lance’s shirt over his head to cover himself. As Lance’s scent envelops him, ocean salt and vanilla, he finds himself wishing they had exchanged pants first.

 

When they reenter the room, Pidge and Hunk are laughing together about something.

“Finally! Took you guys long enough.” Pidge smirks. “I didn’t realize we were playing seven minutes in heaven-”

Hunk nudges them and Lance makes a choking sound.

“We weren’t- we didn’t!”

Keith looks around confused. “What’s seven minutes in heaven? I thought we were playing truth or dare?”

Pidge opens their mouth to explain but Lance cuts them off. “It’s nothing. Let’s just keep playing.”

As the night drags on and the nunville wears off, the game starts to lose its glamor. Keith determinedly chooses dare every time, and Hunk only chooses truth. Pidge and Lance switch back and forth, but after a few vargas they all start to run out of ideas. Pidge is leaning against Hunk, yawning loudly. Even though they had the least nunville, it definitely hit them the hardest.

“Alright,” Hunk concedes, stifling a yawn of his own. “I think it’s time I get this one off to bed.”

He helps Pidge stand and they trudge out of the room together, rubbing sleep from their eyes and calling goodnights over their shoulders.

Lance and Keith sit in silence for a few ticks before Lance sprawls out on the couch, his own eyelids drooping dangerously. His head lands next to Keith’s legs, and Keith, head still a little muddled from the nunville, reaches out and begins running his fingers through Lance’s hair. The blue paladin hums quietly and lets his eyes drift closed. Keith, however, refuses to look away from Lance as he continues playing with his hair.

Eyes still closed, Lance mutters, “you look so good in blue,” just above a whisper. Keith doesn’t know what to say, so settles for a small tug on Lance’s hair in response. A small smile cracks across Lance’s tanned face, and he shuffles for a moment so that his head falls in Keith’s lap, eyes still closed. Keith flashes Lance a shy smile he can’t see and continues running his fingers through his hair.

Once Lance starts snoring, he sighs. He knows he can’t stay in this moment forever, but god he wishes he could. He gently shakes Lance’s shoulder with his free hand, the other continuing rifling through his hair.

“Hey, Lance,” he whispers. The blue paladin stirs and looks up at him groggily, blinking slowly.

“Oh, hey Keith.” He offers a small, sleepy smile that absolutely melts Keith’s heart.

“Let’s go to bed, yeah?”

Lance hums in agreement and sits up, and Keith immediately misses the feeling of Lance’s weight on his thigh and his short, soft hair between his fingers.

 

***

 

The boys retire to Keith’s room and immediately crawl groggily into bed, still in each other’s pajamas. Lance climbs in first and takes up his usual spot against the wall, followed quickly by Keith, who always sleeps on the outside with one foot peeking out of the blankets for temperature regulation. As soon as Keith’s head hits the pillow, Lance’s arms are wrapped around his waist and pulling him in close, so that Lance, despite being the taller one, has his head nestled against Keith’s chest. Their legs tangle comfortably, and Keith dares to brush some of Lance’s hair aside so he can better see the beautiful boy pressed against him, and relishes in the feeling of touching those soft strands again. Lance doesn’t open his eyes, but he hums softly as Keith tucks the loose strand behind his ear, and Keith hopes that it’s an invitation to continue.

His stomach is in knots as he reaches out again to continue stroking Lance’s hair. He’s terrified that at any moment, Lance could open his eyes and ask, “what do you think you’re doing, Mullet?” But he never does.

As he runs his fingers through Lance’s hair soothingly, he thinks back to their conversation before truth or dare.

_Keith, buddy, Lance is not straight._

_You’re more oblivious than I thought._

_You… you didn’t know?_

This information changes things. Suddenly, Keith is allowing himself to feel what he had been suppressing since Lance had been captured, and the emotions come crashing down on him like floodwaters rushing from a breaking dam.

 

When Keith had seen Lance, arms pinned behind him by Galra soldiers and a blaster held steadily against his head, his world fell still. He knew there was no way to save him, and all he could feel was furious. Furious with Lance for getting himself into that situation, furious with the team for deciding to leave him, and furious with himself for being unable to save him. The anger rolled off of him in hot waves, burning his skin and boiling his blood. But it was all an attempt to mask the fear roiling underneath it. Fear that Lance would never come back to them.

The following week, Lance’s absence had felt tangible to Keith. He felt the lack of Lance in the stillness in the hallways, the silence at mealtimes, and the constant pain evident in the other paladins’ faces. His absence ached. Losing Lance left the whole team feeling raw and ragged, but Keith especially. He never realized what a void Lance filled in his life until he left it vacant again. It was the pain of losing Shiro all over again but worse, coupled with guilt at his own failure to protect him and something else that was unidentifiable but tore at Keith’s chest viciously.

It wasn’t long after Lance’s return that Keith was able to name that unidentifiable feeling; affection. He had shoved it down, refusing to acknowledge it, hoping that if he ignored it, it would go away, but of course then they started sleeping together and all hope of that went out the airlock.

Keith had been fully prepared to carry this painful longing for Lance to his grave, assuming that there was no possibility of these feelings being reciprocated. But now….

_Keith, buddy, Lance is not straight._

_You’re more oblivious than I thought._

_You… you didn’t know?_

 

Keith pulls himself back to the present and gazes down at the boy in his arms, never ceasing stroking his hair. Lance’s breaths are even and slow, and Keith figures he must have fallen asleep.

Keith allows his wandering hand to slowly come to a rest on Lance’s cheek, and he marvels at how soft the skin is as he rubs his thumb softly back and forth. Maybe there is something to that whole facemask routine after all.

Before he realizes what he’s doing, Keith moves his hand to the back of Lance’s neck and leans in to plant the softest whisper of a kiss on Lance’s forehead. He tilts his head down to press their foreheads together, noses slotting next to each other, lips just inches apart. Keith can feel Lance’s soft breath on his face and aches to close the distance between them, but he stops himself. He closes his eyes and pauses there, drinking in this moment, the delicious heat between them, the sensation of Lance’s soft hair between his fingers, the faint scent of nunville on Lance’s breath.

Keith sighs deeply before pulling back, sliding his hand down from Lance’s hair to settle across his tan shoulders and resting his head above Lance’s on the pillow.

Keith closes his eyes, fighting to still his racing heart and calm his raging emotions. Just because Lance likes some guys doesn’t mean he necessarily likes him. He has to get a grip on himself.

After all, Pidge must have been teasing when they’d said that thing about the Garrison, right?

 

***

 

For the first time in months, Lance is woken by a dream that’s, well… pleasant. Even after the nightmare serum was flushed from his system, all of his dreams had been nightmares. Since being captured months ago, Lance hasn’t had a single pleasant dream. Until last night.

The details are already fuzzy, but it had been about Keith, kissing him gently and stroking his hair as he held him close. Keith, all over him, surrounding him and peppering him with kisses; on his cheeks, his forehead, down his jawline and onto his neck, but never on his lips. In the dream, Lance had been happily smothered by Keith’s affection, pulling him impossibly closer and longing for more. Just as he tugged at dream Keith’s clothes, Lance had jerked awake.

The first thing Lance is aware of as he wakes up is the smell of Keith all around him, hints of citrus and black pepper. Before even opening his eyes, Lance breathes in Keith’s scent, loving the way it envelopes him when they sleep in Keith’s room, and he buries his face in Keith’s chest, chasing the smell.

The second thing Lance is aware of as he wakes up is that he’s hard. He opens his eyes abruptly, thankful for maybe the first time to the lack of light in space. Keith is still asleep, one pale arm draped over Lance’s shoulders and the other tucked under the pillow they’re sharing.

Lance blinked. They shared a pillow? That was new.

He pulls back slightly to examine Keith’s sleeping features, careful not to wake him. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, long eyelashes fluttering lightly, soft lips slack, and facial muscles relaxed into an open expression Lance had only seen on Awake Keith when they did facemasks.

Soft lips? Where had that come from? Sure, they _looked_ soft, and Lance had always _imagined_ that they were soft, but Lance had never-

Oh my quiznack….

He had assumed it was part of the dream, but looking at Keith now, still in Lance’s blue pajamas, he realized that it had been very real.

 

Keith’s fingers in his hair, lulling him so close to sleep, resting briefly on his cheek until suddenly the hand moved to cup the back of his neck. Keith kissed his forehead so lightly Lance was almost unsure it had happened. But there was no mistaking that soft weight, that delicate brush that sent shivers and heat down his entire body at the same time. And then… well, Lance wasn’t sure how to describe what had happened then. Keith’s scent had overwhelmed him in the best possible way, and when he cracked opened his eyes, he saw Keith, pressing their foreheads together, his own eyes closed. His lips were barely inches away, and Lance had so desperately itched to close that gap, but he felt frozen. This was Keith: the boy he’d been crushing on since the Garrison. He’d spent so many years now trying to forget those violet eyes and dark hair, trying to convince himself he wasn’t helplessly captivated by them, that now that they were within reach, Lance couldn’t make the move. He shut his eyes again as Keith sighed and pulled away, feeling like his own heart was leaving him as he did so.

 

Lance stares, open-mouthed, at his sleeping… friend? Teammate? Cuddle buddy? What is Keith to him these days? What does Keith _want_ to be to him? Lance has no way of knowing without asking, and that is beyond out of the question. Keith is notoriously bad at feelings and known for getting angry when he’s caught off guard. Lance’s chest aches as he looks back at Keith, longing to tell him how pretty and amazing he is, but paralyzed with fear at the thought.

What had surprised Lance the most about Keith as they got closer is how gentle he is. He holds Lance so softly and night, runs his fingers delicately through his hair, and that kiss… it had been so tender, spreading warmth throughout Lance’s entire body despite being so light.

Lance had expected Keith to be rough and needy, touch-starved and desperate. But he’s so gentle, as if he’s afraid to break this delicate thing between them. _As if he’s afraid to lose me…._

Lance shakes himself mentally. He’s known that Keith is gay for about as long as he’s known him, (Lance, unlike Keith apparently, has a functioning gaydar) but that doesn’t mean that he’s into Lance. What does Lance even have to offer, he wonders to himself, glancing down at his wiry, lanky limbs and thinking about how Keith had looked so strong and solid as they exchanged shirts last night. Keith is walking perfection, effortlessly skilled with his sword and with his lion, wrapped up in soft creamy skin and topped with thick dark hair that curls beautifully around his face and neck. God, Keith Kogane even manages to make a mullet look amazing. He oozes confidence and aptitude at everything he does, and Lance… well Lance doesn’t. He’s always been the weakest link, never really had a place. Even at home, he wasn’t the smartest or the best at sports, he was just Lance.

 _Someone as exceptional as Keith would never go for someone as average as me_ , he sighs to himself. _That kiss couldn’t have meant anything._

He’s almost convinced himself of this when suddenly, a hand is brushing the hair out of his eyes. “It’s too early for you to be frowning like that,” Keith mumbles, looking down at him across the pillow.

Lance had been so lost in thought he didn’t notice Keith waking up. He flashes a smile up at him. “Good morning sunshine. How’s the hangover?”

Keith pauses for a moment, thinking. “It’s hard to tell in the dark, but I think I’m okay. You?”

Lance ignores the question and instead smiles mischievously. “Oh yeah? Then how about I shed some light on-” he makes to leap over Keith and run for the light switch, but Keith’s strong arms catch him in midair and snake around him, pinning Lance to his own chest in an attempt to stop him from turning on the lights.

Lance flails against him, struggling to break free of his vice-like grip, and both boys are laughing raucously as they struggle against each other.

Lance finally accepts defeat and relaxes into Keith’s chest before realizing what he’s done. Both boys seem to realize the position they’re in at the same time. Keith’s arms go slack as Lance stiffens, and Lance is able to prop himself up on his elbows, still leaning over Keith, one forearm on either side of his head. He knows he needs to move, knows he’s going to make this weird, but something in Keith’s gaze captivates him, holding him in place.

Lance’s mind wanders back to the night before, with Keith’s face pressed against his own in the dark, breathing each other in, the inches between them feeling heavy with uncertainty.

He blinks and he’s back in the present, frozen by Keith’s unwavering violet stare. He seems frozen too, his eyes wide, lips parted slightly, hands settled lightly on Lance’s hips.

Maybe that kiss did mean something….

Lance can’t tell if he’s feeling his own heart pounding or Keith’s, and he doesn’t know how long they stay there, both knowing they need to pull away but unwilling to do so. Both wanting to close the distance between them but just too afraid to do it

Lance steels himself. He bites his bottom lip nervously, gaze darting between Keith’s imploring eyes and his parted lips.

_Okay, Loverboy Lance. You can do this. Time to earn the nickname…._

Lance swallows, takes one last breath and slowly lowers himself, eyes never leaving Keith’s face, gauging his reaction. His heart races as Keith tilts his head slightly, eyelids fluttering shut.

“Hey Keith?”

The boys scramble apart in panic as Shiro’s voice calls from just outside the door, accompanied by a soft knock.

“I missed you at the training deck this morning, everything alright?”

Keith’s jaw is moving but he can’t seem to make his voice work, eyes still glued on Lance. Lance nudges him with his elbow and he miraculously finds his voice.

“Uh… uh yeah, just um... you know, sleeping in?” It comes out more like a question than an answer, and Lance knows they only have moments before Concerned Dad Mode kicks in and Shiro busts down the door to check on Keith, only to find Lance, in Keith’s bed, with the boys wearing each other’s pajamas.

“That’s unusual. Keith… are you sure you’re alright?”

This is bad. Lance knows the only way to stop Shiro from coming into the room is for Keith to show himself, but his face is flushed as red as his pajamas should be but are not. Thinking fast, Lance shoves Keith out of the bed, gestures between the door and Keith, hoping he gets the memo, and leaps as quietly as possible into Keith’s closet, leaving it cracked so he can peek out without being seen. Hopefully.

Keith does, in fact, get the memo, and opens his door enough to stick his head out while hiding his Very Blue pajamas.

“Uh, hey Shiro!” Lance has to bite back a groan. Bad start, Keith. “I’m fine, really. I was up late with the others working on uh… team bonding? I was just tired, that’s all.”

“Team bonding?” Shiro implores, crossing his arms skeptically.

“Yeah, yeah we watched a movie. Um… some kind of romcom.” Keith doesn’t even remember the name of the movie? Oh man this is bad.

“So, the empty bottle of nunville Coran found in the lounge had nothing to do with this ‘team bonding?’”

“Uhhhhh… no?” A valiant effort Keith, but no way Shiro’s buying it.

The black paladin sighs deeply. There’s a heavy silence for a moment before Keith offers, “want to take a rain check on that sparring match?”

“Sure, Keith. How about tomorrow morning?”

“Sounds good. Sorry for missing this one, Shiro.”

“It happens.” Shiro turns to walk away, and Keith sighs in relief as he starts to close the door, but before he can slide it shut, Shiro turns around to ask over his shoulder, “By the way, have you seen Lance this morning? Hunk and Pidge were looking for him.”

Lance’s heart just about stops, and he can see the back of Keith’s neck flush a deep red again. “Nope, no, haven’t seen him. Sorry, Shiro!” He utters way too quickly and slides the door shut without giving his friend a chance to respond, whirling around to lean against the closed door. Lance can’t help but admire how he looks with his eyes blown wide, cheeks burning visibly, and chest heaving slightly. He swallows before he steps out of the closet cautiously and meets Keith’s panicked gaze.

They hold each other’s stares, and what began as a frantic visual exchange slowly melts into stunned laughter.

Lance flops back onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes as he laughs, feeling the tension melt from his body.

“Man,” he finally mutters, “that was a close one.”

He sits up to see Keith nodding in agreement, attempting to stifle his own laughter behind a hand.

“Thank god Shiro doesn’t know about this,” Lance continues, “I don’t think I could live with the embarrassment.”

Keith’s laughter dies abruptly. Lance looks at him questioningly, but his facial expression is closed off.

“Keith?”

“We should probably change back into our own pajamas. And you should leave before we actually do get caught.” Keith’s voice is tight, and he looks determinedly at the floor, refusing to meet the blue paladin’s eyes.

Lance’s heart sinks. “Yeah… yeah, you’re probably right.”

 

***

 

Lance doesn’t see Keith the rest of the day. He manages to shrug it off, deciding to talk to him after dinner.

But Keith doesn’t show up for dinner. And afterwards, when Lance walks up to his door he finds it locked. He knocks softly but there’s no answer. He waits a few ticks and knocks again, louder this time, but Keith still doesn’t come to the door. Trying his best to ignore the anxiety gnawing at his stomach, Lance trudges back to his own room.

He should be fine, really, the nightmares have tapered off significantly and he even had a dream that didn’t involve anybody dying last night. He should be fine to sleep on his own again by now.

So why does his chest ache so badly?

 

Lance tries to put Keith out of his mind as he settles into his bed, but it feels too big and the sheets smell like him. Lance finds his arms wrapping around Keith’s pillow, and he breathes in citrus and black pepper in an attempt to ease his aching chest but only succeeds in makes it worse.

What had he done wrong?

Lance swore that Keith had wanted him to kiss him. But what if he’d been wrong? Had be been so caught up in the memory of that kiss and that dream that he perceived desire when there was none? _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

S _omeone as exceptional as Keith would never go for someone as average as me_ , he reminds himself. Throwing the pillow aside in frustration.

 

When Lance finally falls asleep, he dreams of Keith, but it’s not like last night.

He’s running through a thick forest, chasing flashes of red and white.

“Keith!” He calls, “Keith!”

No response. Lance screams himself hoarse, stumbling over protruding roots as he chases after the red paladin. Alien birds are screeching in the distance, and Lance can hear his own heavy breathing between shouts, as well as the crunching of foliage beneath his feet.

After what feels like vargas of running and yelling for Keith to just slow down, Lance stumbles into a large clearing and screeches to a halt. Everything falls silent as the world stops turning. Even the birds stop, leaving Lance’s ears ringing.

Zarkon himself towers over him, even from across the clearing. His right hand wields a massive sword, and in his left hand-

Lance gasps. He tries to move but when he looks down at his feet, they’re sinking in some kind of dark tar. He tries desperately to tug his feet free, but the harder he struggles the faster he finds himself sinking.

He’s up to his knees when he hears it.

“L-Lance….”

Lance whips his eyes up to meet Keith’s, blown wide with panic. Zarkon is holding him aloft, one massive purple hand around his neck. Keith’s feet are kicking weakly, his hands clasped around the hand holding him in a vain attempt to loosen its grip.

“Lance,” he chokes out again, but as he opens his mouth to continue, Zarkon’s sword plunges into his back, tearing clean through his armor and protruding from his chest.

Zarkon’s laughter echoes in Lance’s mind as the world spins around him. Zarkon drops the lifeless paladin, sword and all, and keeps laughing. Lance’s vision blurs.

He’s yelling and yelling but no sound reaches his ears. He sinks further into the tar as he thrashes, one hand desperately reaching out to where Keith fell, but then his head sinks under and his vision goes black.

 

Lance wakes up screaming, his throat raw. He shoots up to a sitting position and glances around frantically. He automatically reaches out for Keith, but his hands grasp cold, empty sheets. His heart is racing and he’s drenched in sweat, gasping for air in a desperate attempt to calm himself.

His door slides open and a sliver of light falls into his room.

“Keith?”

“No buddy it’s me, Hunk.”

“Hunk,” Lance sobs as his friend rushes to him and embraces him in one of his famous hugs. Lance clings to Hunk for dear life, shaking and crying and feeling utterly pathetic.

“I didn’t know this was still happening,” Hunk says carefully.

“It wasn’t,” Lance hiccups, “I had it under control,” he mumbles insistently into Hunk’s shoulder.

“Lance, you were screaming in your sleep. You were… well, you were yelling Keith’s name.”

Fresh tears stain Hunk’s shirt. “He died, Hunk, I couldn’t save him and he just-”

He trails off. Hunk gives Lance a moment to finish but realizes that he can’t.

“Is that what they’re all like?”

Lance pauses, but eventually sighs and nods into Hunk’s shoulder. “But they haven’t been that bad since the beginning.”

Hunk stays with Lance until he’s calmed down enough to lay back down and try to sleep again.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” He asks before leaving.

Lance just nods, but he knows he’s lying. Hunk probably knows it too. He sighs and lets the door close behind him with a soft hiss.

And Lance is once again alone in the dark.

 

***

 

Keith lies awake for vargas. He’d worked himself ragged on the training deck hoping exhaustion would help him sleep, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Keith had never slept comfortably though the night before Lance, and he isn’t sure he can do it now without him. Especially with the intoxicating smell of sea salt and vanilla lingering on his sheets, bombarding his nostrils.

Why does he have to smell so good? Keith thinks, scowling to himself in the dark.

 

Keith finally drifts off when he hears it. He lurches awake to a ragged cry that tears through the air, muffled through the wall but still painfully recognizable.

Keith freezes, sitting up and staring at the wall beside his bed, where Lance would be curled up next to him if he were here. It also happens to be the wall that he shares with Lance’s room.

“Keith, Keith no!” Lance yells again, and Keith’s heart wrenches. He places a palm against the wall but doesn’t get up. He wants so desperately to run to Lance’s room and shake him awake, hold Lance in his arms and stroke his hair and whisper to him that he’ll be alright, that he’s right here. He just wants to make Lance feel safe.

But the pit that has been settled in his stomach all day keeps him rooted in place.

_I don’t think I could live with the embarrassment._

Keith drops his head to his hands. He was such an idiot!

He really thought for a moment that Lance was going to kiss him. Keith grits his teeth. How could he have let himself believe that this… thing between them was anything more than one teammate helping another. Another cry tears through the air, reminding Keith that Lance only spent nights with him out of necessity. He was beginning to think, with the lessened frequency of Lance’s nightmares, that maybe Lance wanted to stay. He’s such an idiot.

Lance calls his name again, and Keith’s heart tears in two. He can’t bear to listen to Lance like this, but he knows that if he lets this relationship continue as is, he’s just going to get hurt. Well, more hurt.

Lance yells out again, no words this time, just a broken cry, and Keith knows he has to do something. Leaping out of bed, he runs barefoot to Hunk’s bedroom, which is on the other side of his own.

He pounds on the door, but no one answers. Hunk must be a damn heavy sleeper if he’s slept through Lance’s shouts only two doors down, Keith realizes. Steeling himself, Keith opens the door and enters, walking to the bed and shaking Hunk awake roughly.

“Wh-what? Keith is that you?” Hunk shoots up, “Oh quiznack, are we under attack?”

“No, and I’m sorry to wake you but-”

Lance yells Keith’s name again. God, how long had this been going on?

“Is that…” Hunk’s eyes widen, “Lance?”

Keith nods. “It’s the nightmares. I’ve been helping him manage it but… I can’t keep doing this. But I can’t just leave him like that Hunk. Please, can you-”

“Say no more, Best Friend Hunk reporting for duty.” He leaps out of bed and rushes past Keith to the door, pausing for a moment in the entryway, turning back to face the red paladin. “Thanks for getting me.”

Keith just nods, swallowing at the lump in his throat as Hunk vanishes.

 

***

 

Keith stumbles into the thankfully Lance-free kitchen the next morning after having his quiznack handed to him by Shiro on the training deck. He isn’t sure he can face the blue paladin right now. After listening to Lance crying out for him in his sleep, Keith feels too ashamed to look into those deep blue eyes. Those stupid, beautiful, deep blue eyes. Ugh.

Keith can’t help but think back to the way Lance had looked at him yesterday morning, staring down at him with wide, careful eyes. Keith could see the hesitation in them, and he could see the moment that hesitation was replaced with determination, just before he started to lean in….

He snaps back to the present as he hears approaching voices.

“…reverse engineer some kind of antidote from the nightmare serum we found in his blood. It would likely stop him from having any dreams at all, but that has to be better than nightmares every night.”

“I worry that he won’t accept the help, but man, you should have seen him Pidge. I’ve never seen anyone look so scared.”

“That’s only because you can’t see your own face on missions,” Pidge teases lightheartedly as the two paladins enter the kitchen.

“Oh! Hey, Keith. We were just talking about a way to help Lance with these nightmares.” Hunk explains, heading straight to the food goo hose. “You want some too?”

“Uh, yeah, thanks Hunk,” Keith responds as Pidge slides into the chair opposite him.

Hunk returns in a tick balancing three bowls of food goo, taking the seat next to Pidge and passing them each a bowl. He takes a large bite before speaking.

“So, Keith, how do you suggest we help him?”

“Huh?”

“You said last night that you’ve been helping him out, I was just wondering-”

Keith can feel himself flushing and keeps his eyes trained on his food goo. “Well, I just do more or less what you did, I guess.”

“That’s quiznacking bullshit,” Pidge interjects around a mouthful of food goo.

“Pidge, the whole point of saying quiznack is to avoid saying other curse words,” Keith responds, finally tearing his eyes from his goo to look at his teammate.

“Keith, don’t dodge the question. I know that was you in that vision when we practiced our mind meld.”

“Yeah Keith- wait, what?” Hunk adds, confidently at first and then turning to Pidge, confused.

“I, uhh….”

“During training, when we all saw Lance’s nightmares. At the end, we saw him wake up and someone was holding him. Then Keith yanked off the headsets and pulled us all out of it.”

“I just felt like we were all invading on something private,” Keith crosses his arms defensively, food goo forgotten. “You have no way of knowing that was me in that vision.”

Pidge laughs and takes another spoonful of goo into their mouth before responding.

“You just confirmed it, buddy.”

Hunk whirled back to facing Keith. “Hold on, you guys have been sleeping together?”

“Keep your voice down!” Keith whisper-yells urgently, “We’re not 'sleeping together' sleeping together, okay? Just like, sharing a bed. As teammates. I’m just helping him out.”

“Yeah I bet you are,” Pidge sounds far too gleeful about Keith’s obvious discomfort.

“Pidge!” Hunk exclaims.

Keith drops his face into his hands to hide his blush, and Hunk speaks up again. “So… was it helping? With the nightmares, I mean.”

Keith lifts his head and nods miserably. “Yeah, it helps him, but I can’t keep doing this, sneaking around, hiding it from everyone-”

“Oh buddy,” Pidge scoffs, “believe me, you weren’t hiding it from anyone except maybe Hunk.”

“Hey!” Hunk protests but Pidge ignores him.

“You can only be MIA so many mornings before someone checks the camera footage.”

“The WHAT?” Keith chokes out, mortified.

“Calm down, there’s no cameras inside the bedrooms. No one wants to see that. There are just cameras outside them. Coran and Allura saw footage of you guys going into the same room ages ago, and I’m pretty sure Shiro has known since the beginning.”

“Um, hang on, when were you guys gonna fill me in on this?” Hunk asks Pidge, and Keith groans miserably, dropping his head to his hands again.

“This is a disaster,” Keith mutters into his hands.

“What are you talking about?” Hunk responds.

“This,” Keith gestures vaguely at the two of them before returning to his defeated position. “No one was supposed to know. Lance said… Lance said he’d die of embarrassment if someone knew.”

Hunk and Pidge exchange quizzical looks before turning back to Keith.

“That can’t be right,” Hunk is the first to speak. “Lance isn’t exactly shy about this kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, and that dope has been obsessed with you since the Garrison.” Hunk elbows Pidge to silence them, but Keith finally lifts his head from his hands.

“You mean you weren’t kidding?” Pidge raises an eyebrow in confusion. “When you said the thing about the cooties. The night we drank the nunville.”

“Oh… my god. Keith, you’re denser than I thought you were,” is all Pidge says in reply.

Keith stares at his food goo, his mind reeling.

Hunk cuts into his train of thought, asking hesitantly, “Is that why you stopped? Because he said that?”

Keith nods, eyes still trained on the goo.

Hunk reaches across the table and clasps his shoulder, so Keith finally meets his eyes. “Keith, you have to talk to him. I’m like, six hundred percent sure that was a misunderstanding.”

Pidge nods in agreement. “The one thing you and Lance have in common is how oblivious you are to the other’s feelings. Trust us. We’ve been listening to him ‘complain’ about how annoyingly perfect you are and how good you are at flying and how your hair-”

Hunk cuts them off with a nervous chuckle. “Okay, Pidge, I’m sure he gets it.”

“You’d think spooning each other for months would be enough to get the message across, but apparently not.”

“Paladins,” Allura’s voice projects over the coms, “it’s been too long since we’ve run drills with all of you; we need to remain sharp. Suit up and report to the training deck in fifteen dobashes.”

 

***

 

   
After conceding that trying to sleep again is futile, Lance wanders to the observation deck in his pajamas and slippers. He scrolls through the map of the universe until he finds Earth, then settles down on the floor to gaze at the small blue planet.

He sits there for vargas, trying desperately not to think about anything at all, knees drawn close to his chest and arms wrapped around them tightly, chin resting on his forearms. He’s like this when Allura and Shiro enter the room in the morning, though he doesn’t acknowledge them when they walk in. Allura is in her suit, and Shiro looks like he came straight from a workout.

The two exchange a brief glance before walking over to the blue paladin and settling on either side of him.

He finally takes note of them, looking surprised to find them there. “Oh,” he says weakly. “Hey guys. That time of quintent already?”

“Lance, I thought you’d been sleeping better lately.” Shiro probes carefully.

“Yes,” Allura adds, “you’ve seemed much more yourself these past few, uh… ‘weeks,’ I believe you call them.”

Lance shrugs noncommittally but doesn’t respond.

“Lance, if something is going on, you need to tell us. We can’t support you as a team if you don’t let us in.” Shiro tries again.

“Yeah, well I tried that, and it didn’t exactly go that well, so….” He shrugs again.

“Is this about Keith?” Shiro asks with just a hint of a knowing smile on his lips.

“Wh-what?” Lance sputters. “No, no, absolutely not. It’s got nothing to do with him or his stupid confusing emotions.”

Allura responds this time, her voice warm. “What’s so confusing about them? It appears he’s quite fond of you.”

Lance scoffs and looks up at the hologram of Earth, slowly spinning above him.

“Keith didn’t even know I existed until Voltron.”

“Well, he certainly knows you exist now.” Shiro offers, pausing for a moment before adding with a sly smile, “In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him blush as often as he has been lately.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Allura places a hand on his arm gently, “that something’s changed.”

Allura removes her hand after a tick or two, but Lance sits there in silence for a while longer, staring at the floor.

“You should have seen him when you were captured. He’s always been antsy, sure, but that week, he couldn’t even sit still to eat. I’ve never seen him so concerned about anyone.” Shiro adds.

“Well, now he’s all mad at me, and I have no clue what I did to quiznack this up!” Lance throws his hands up in exasperation before folding in on himself again.

“Just talk to him,” Shiro offers.

“I’ve been trying, but he’s avoiding me! I haven’t seen any sign of his stupid face in quintents!”

Allura brings her hand to her chin in thought and then looks at the boys next to her with a sly gleam in her eye.

“I have an idea,” she starts before standing up and powering up the coms. “Paladins, it’s been too long since we’ve run drills with all of you; we need to remain sharp. Suit up and report to the training deck in fifteen dobashes.”

When she turns back to them, Lance’s jaw is practically on the floor.

Shiro chuckles. “That’s one way to get them in the same room.”

 

***

 

Training goes about as well as any of them would expect. Lance is a walking corpse, unable to dodge Pidge’s punches in melee training or hit more than five drones during ranged practice. He only seems to be getting worse as the training continues. Keith doesn’t feel much better, having barely slept last night after waking Hunk, too haunted by concerns for Lance, and admittedly missing his presence, to fall back asleep.

 

When he’d sparred with Shiro in the morning, Shiro had taken him down easily, several times, before sitting him down and asking him what was wrong. Keith, however, who had been unable to dodge a single punch all morning, dodged the question like a champ.

After about a varga of pathetic sparring, Shiro had suggested Keith go to the kitchen while he went to discuss battle strategy with the princess.

 

And now here they are, back on the training deck, Keith even more tired than he was before but fueled by his anger towards Lance. At least, he was telling himself it was anger. Anger was familiar to Keith, easy to understand and relatively uncomplicated. Whenever he felt overwhelmed by emotions he couldn’t quite comprehend, or maybe just didn’t want to comprehend, he told himself he was simply angry. He usually believes it.

This time, the lie is a little harder to swallow. Lance just looks so morose and defeated, the dark shadows underneath his eyes returning after just one night without Keith- uhh, without _sleep_ , Keith corrects himself.

 

About a varga into combat training, Shiro pairs Lance and Keith as sparring partners.

They stand opposite each other on the matt, both keenly aware that this is the first time they’ve made eye contact in days. Keith’s heart wrenches at the sight of

Lance’s eyes, dulled and unfocused, and the hesitant way the blue paladin looks at him, fists barely raised. Keith feels his heart sink and- no, he reminds himself. You’re not sad, or hurt, or heartbroken, you’re _angry_.

Then Keith is swinging. Lance’s eyes widen for a moment before he ducks, barely avoiding the attack. But then Keith is on him, relentlessly swiping with both fists and interjecting with devastating kicks. Lance is scrambling backwards, but Keith can’t stop advancing. The room around them has gone silent but he doesn’t care.

He’s so angry, he tells himself. Angry at Lance for breaking his stupid gay heart.

CRACK!

Keith reels backwards – during a momentary lapse of focus, Lance had finally lashed back and punched Keith hard in the jaw, sending him spinning as stars dance in his vision.

He stands there in shock for a moment, violet eyes locked onto blue ones, each pair searching for an explanation of what’s been happening these past few days but coming up empty.

“Fuck this, I’m out.” Lance announces, turning on his heels and walking out the doors.

The room is silent for a few ticks, Keith staring at the closed doors and feeling way too much at once. He’s definitely… not angry. That’s a terrifying thought.

A metal hand clasps his shoulder, and Keith turns to look Shiro in the eyes.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

Keith blinks, not sure he understands.

“Go after him, you idiot!” Pidge calls across the deck with hands cupped around their mouth. Next to them, Hunk throws Keith a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile. Behind them, Allura nods earnestly.

Keith looks back to Shiro, sure the terror is clear in his eyes.

“Shiro, I… I don’t know if I can fix this.”

“The fact that you’re afraid means that it’s definitely worth trying. And for what it’s worth, I am completely confident you guys will figure it out.”

Keith pauses for a moment, looking around at his team.

He nods once in determination.

“Alright.” They all whoop and yell as he walks toward the doors. As they slide open, Keith turns back over his shoulder and says, “Thanks guys.”

“Hey, uh, when you guys are getting busy later, can you do it in Lance’s room so I don’t have to hear-”

“Hunk!” Shiro scolds while Pidge makes barf noises. Allura seems a little confused, and Keith sincerely hopes no one explains it to her.

Despite his embarrassment, he grins slyly. “No promises,” he teases as he runs out the door, suddenly buzzing with adrenaline.

 

***

 

Keith takes a deep, steadying breath in front of Lance’s closed door. His nerves make him knock a little too hard, and he winces at the loud boom.

The door slides open. “Look Hunk, I’m not really in the mood for-”

His eyes finally meet Keith’s, and he freezes, mouth still open around a half-formed word.

“Uh, hi Lance. Can I, uh….” He can feel himself deflate under Lance’s glare.

“Come in?” Lance asks incredulously. “After avoiding me for days?”

“Lance, look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m so sorry I avoided you. I just…” he sighs. “can we please talk about this inside?”

Lance hesitates a moment, studying Keith’s face with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Keith tries to look as earnest as possible and prays he doesn’t just look stupid.

“Fine.” Lance turns and dissapears into his room, and Keith follows, trying not to feel discouraged by Lance’s demeanor but not really succeeding.

They’re standing opposite each other in the middle of the room, an uncomfortable distance apart, but Keith knows if he tries to close the gap now Lance would only grow angrier.

Now that he’s here, back in Lance’s room, surrounded by all those collected space souvenirs Keith had studied that first night, sitting at Lance’s desk in the dark, so hesitant but so determined to help his teammate return to his boisterous, cheerful self.

“Well?” Lance crossed his arms impatiently. “You gonna explain why you went berserk on me back there? Or why you’re giving me bedroom eyes one second and then kicking me out the next? Or why I didn’t hear from you for a whole damn day?”

“Yes, I- hang on, _bedroom eyes_?”

“Oh, come on, Keith, don’t tell me you don’t know what bedroom eyes are,”

“I do, but I was not-”

“Oh yes you were!” Lance interjects, waving his arms wildly. “The morning Shiro almost caught us, you were all like, ‘oh Lance, let me trap you in my big strong arms and look at you with my beautiful bedroom eyes and then kick you out and not speak to you for days!’”

Keith sputters, both embarrassed and infuriated at the same time. “You said you were embarrassed!”

Lance halts his frantic movements and looks at Keith, confusion evident on his face. “What?”

“You said if Shiro knew we’d been sleeping together you’d die of embarrassment, and I just-” Keith breaks off and lets his eyes fall to the floor, not sure how to continue.

After a moment of silence, Lance pads over to Keith softly and cups his cheek in his hand, lifting Keith’s head gently so their eyes meet. All signs of his anger have dissipated, and Keith feels his heart flutter with the tiniest bit of hope.

“Keith, you beautiful idiot, I wasn’t embarrassed about you. Hell, if I was dating you, I’d announce it to every person and alien I met, I’d be so proud.”

Keith stutters, “B-beautiful…?”

“Yes, _beautiful idiot_ , keep up,” Lance teases, but there’s no bite to it. His thumb strokes Keith’s cheek as he speaks. “I was embarrassed because I can’t sleep alone without getting nightmares. Last night, without you, I-”

Keith silences him with a hand on Lance’s outstretched wrist, squeezing gently. “I heard you, Lance.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I… I’m so sorry, Lance. I didn’t know what to do, I thought you were embarrassed to be with me. I was so hurt and I thought you didn’t want me there, but I couldn’t just leave you like that. I should have gone in myself anyway, I shouldn’t have sent in Hunk-’

“You what?”

Keith blinks, suddenly afraid he did the wrong thing. “I woke up Hunk, I figured if anyone else could help you, he could. But I should have helped you myself. Lance, I’m so sorry I abandoned you like that.”

Lance shushes him softly, still cradling his cheek, and leans forward slowly until he’s pressing their foreheads together, breath mingling in the space between them. Lance closes his eyes as he wraps his free arm around Keith’s waist, and Keith’s brain effectively shuts off as vanilla and sea salt surround him dizzyingly.

“I should have kissed you that night.” Lance whispers, eyes still closed.

“Which night?”

“After truth or dare, when you held me like this,”

Keith’s eyes widen. “I thought you were asleep.”

Lance hums in amusement and he nudges Keith’s nose playfully with his own. Keith draws in a sharp breath and holds it, terrified that if he breathes too hard he might break the spell they’re under.

“I was too afraid then.” Lance mumbles, so painfully close to Keith’s own lips that he swears he could feel the soundwave vibrations of Lance’s words.

“Well, what’s stopping you now?”

Keith only has a moment to panic about maybe being too forward before Lance’s lips softly catch his own, and all of his fears and anxieties melt away instantly. The boys still for a moment, seemingly suspended in time, before Keith wraps his free arm around Lance’s shoulders, pulling him in closer as their lips begin to move against each other.

It’s dizzying and grounding at the same time, both paladins completely lost in the push and pull of their lips. The kiss is slow and earnest but eager, and it slowly intensifies. Keith allows his hand around Lance’s shoulders to slip down, but his touch is impeded by Lance’s paladin armor.  
Keith has touched Lance before, sparring with him in training or calming him after nightmares. But now he feels the urge to touch Lance so strongly it’s as if he’s never touched him before, and he’s aching for the feeling of Lance’s skin under his fingers.

Keith breaks the kiss only long enough to say, “the armor has to go.”

Lance laughs softly against his lips, and Keith swears it’s the best moment of his life. “I couldn’t agree more.”

 

Red and blue armor scattered across Lance’s floor, the paladins are left only in their black flight suits. Somehow, Keith is pressed against a wall, and grateful for its support. He’s not sure he could stand on his own at this point. He’s melting under Lance’s touch, he’s sure of it. There’s going to be nothing left of him by the time Lance pulls away, and Keith is absolutely okay with that. Of all the ways to die in space, melting under a long-awaited touch from your crush was definitely top of the list.

Keith moans into Lance’s mouth as the taller boy runs his fingers lightly up Keith’s back, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Lance grabs a fistful of his dark hair and tugs, ever so gently. Keith tilts his head back obediently as Lance kisses down his jaw and onto his neck, earning another moan from Keith.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been dying to do that,” Lance murmurs, smiling into Keith’s neck, fingers still tangled in Keith’s hair. His other hand digs into Keith’s waist, pressing him further into the wall.

Keith makes a noise low in his throat, the only warning he gives Lance before grasping him by the hips and twisting them so that he now has the taller boy pressed into the wall. Lance gasps, but Keith gives him no time to recover before he’s kissing into his neck hungrily.

He smiles into Lance’s tan skin, pressing one more kiss into his neck and rolling his hips into Lance, eliciting a moan from the taller boy.

Keith returns to press his lips back on Lance’s, moving more quickly now. Lance’s hand is back in his hair, tugging harder, and Keith rolls into him again.

Alarms blare throughout the castle, and the boys jolt in each other’s arms, so lost in their embrace that the alarms, which they have grown well accustomed to by now, startle them.

Lance’s head falls back against the wall with a soft thud.

“Are you kidding me,” he moans to no one in particular. “Can’t we have five more minutes?”

They hear a boom and the Castle shakes around them.

Lance chuckles softly and adds, “guess not.”

Keith’s mind is still reeling; he can barely process what’s happening, but even if he could think of something to say, he’d be too breathless to speak.

“Paladins!” Allura calls over the loudspeaker, “Get to your lions now! A Galra cruiser has appeared and they’ve opened fire!”

Another impact rocks the Castle and the lights flicker and then die out. That is finally enough to shake the boys out of their stupor and into action. They scramble to put their armor back on and run to the hanger with their helmets under their arms. Red and Blue are the only remaining lions when they arrive, and Keith charges for Red, but Lances catches his wrist. He spins Keith to face him and plants one last kiss firmly on his lips.

“See you out there, Mullet.” Lance winks and smiles brighter than Keith has ever seen, and he swears that Lance is going to be the death of him.

He smiles back before bolting to Red, calling over his shoulder, “last one to their lion loses!”

Lance shouts indignantly before racing to Blue. “Loses what?”

“You’ll find out!” Keith slides his helmet onto his head and is gone before he can hear Lance’s indignant attempt at a response.

Lance smiles, bewildered, and puts on his own helmet before launching Blue into space after Red and Keith.

 

The battle is thankfully a quick one, with only one stray cruiser and some fighters. They form Voltron and take them down without much resistance. Normally Keith lives for the thrill of combat, but today, he’s itching for this fight to be finished so he can pick up where he and Lance left off.

Finally, the paladins return to the hanger, disembarking from their lions one by one. During the fight, Coran had managed to get the Castle’s lights working again, and the lions gleam under them.

Keith lands before Lance, and impatience buzzes under his skin as he exits his lion. He looks around at his fellow paladins and finds them all staring at him. Pidge’s wearing a very smug smirk, Hunk’s blushing but smiling nonetheless, and Shiro’s looking at him with his Proud Space Dad expression.

“Fucking finally,” Pidge laughs, and Hunk nods in agreement, still looking a little embarrassed.

“We’re happy for you guys,” Shiro adds.

“What are you guys talking about? And why are you all staring at me like that?”

An arm clad in red and white drapes itself across his shoulders, and Keith turns to see Lance, free of his helmet, positively beaming at him.

Keith pales and looks down at himself only to confirm his fears; all he sees is white and blue. Keith feels like he might melt into the floor. He and Lance had put on each other’s armor in their haste to join the fight.

He blushes as red as the helmet in the crook of Lance’s free arm.

“Who can blame them?” Lance winks at him, still beaming. “I told you, you look so good in blue.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! This is the first fic I've written since I was like 12, so I was super nervous to post it, but here we are. I hope you enjoyed it!


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